Life at Christmas
by djinni14
Summary: Kate Beckett had given up on Christmas years ago when she was just a little girl. Losing her mother so close to Christmas only reinforced that belief. She may have given up on Christmas, however Christmas hasn't given up on her. Richard Rodgers and friends he doesn't even know he has are about to rock her world. - NOW COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 1_

"Got an ID?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, Joshua Leeds, MD, age 37. According to the business cards in his wallet he's a plastic surgeon," Espo replied. "Car is also registered to him as well."

"Any money in the wallet?" Kate queried.

"Yeah, couple hundred bucks." Certainly not worth killing someone for.

"Well, I guess we can rule out robbery." Kate took a closer look. "A plastic bag and duct tape are very personal." Someone wanted this guy to suffer before he died.

Lanie added her two cents. "From the state of decay I'd say he's been missing for about a week. Cause of death is asphyxiation but I'll run toxicology just in case."

"That matches the date on the first parking ticket," Ryan mentioned since he had a number of them.

"The bag looks flimsy. Why didn't he just rip it off?" Espo wondered aloud.

"He must have been restrained," Kate speculated. It looked really easy to rip open to get air.

"That's just the half of it. His fingernails have been removed. And each finger shows signs of having been broken pre-mortem." Lanie held up his hand to show Kate.

"Pre-mortem?" Kate questioned since that suggested he was tortured.

"If I had to guess I'd say our good doctor was tortured before he was killed." Lanie was positive he didn't do it to himself.

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Kate and Espo watched Leeds' fiancée ID their victim. "CSU have any luck with the car?"

"Results will be in tomorrow," Espo responded.

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"Three face lifts? At the very least she should be arrested for the violation of nature." Roy didn't much care for the picture Kate put up on the white board.

"Check this out. Her husband had her committed to Bellevue for treatment for her little obsession." Espo circled his face to mean he meant what she had done to her face.

"Guess who supported her commitment?" Ryan asked, pretty sure they'd know.

"Doctor Joshua Leeds." Kate could see that one coming.

"Mandatory one month treatment program," Ryan said.

Espo included this little tidbit. "She was released three days before our good doctor went missing."

"Get her in here." Roy wanted them to talk to her. She was perfect for this.

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"So where was she?" Roy took down her photo. She was suddenly off the top of their list.

"She was…in the hospital." Kate was uncomfortable with this subject.

Roy couldn't believe it. "More surgery?" Hadn't she done enough to herself already?

"Yep," Kate confirmed.

"What's she got left to operate on?" She hadn't just had her face altered. What was left?

Kate did her best but she still looked very uncomfortable.

"Oh, no!" Roy couldn't believe it. Surely she hadn't done something _there._

"Oh, yes," Kate grimaced.

"What can they possibly do down _there?"_

"Apparently quite a lot." Kate didn't even want to think about a boob job let alone down _there._

"Well if Leeds pissed her off maybe someone else pissed her off even more." Roy put her picture back on the board, just a little lower down.

"Yeah, Ryan and Espo are looking into that. Also CSU says the car came back clean. It's almost impossible for someone untrained to be that clean." Someone had tortured him somewhere.

"You thinking it was a professional?" Roy asked her.

"I don't know. Ms. Goldberg had enough money to pay someone to do it." Kate couldn't take her off the list either.

"A surgeon with broken fingers. Someone's sending a message," Roy pointed out and headed to his office.

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"A nine hour mystery operation that he didn't want even his own staff to know about." Roy liked this new lead.

"The hospital has nothing. It's like nothing happened at all. Whoever it was wasn't admitted." Ryan was at a dead end.

"You're talking to the wrong department. Someone used a hospital and their equipment. Someone had to pay for that," Roy insisted.

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"Found it," Espo announced. "You're not going to believe this. US Attorney's Office. Whatever was done, the US paid for it."

Kate had an idea. "There's only one reason for the US to pay to alter the appearance of someone."

"Witness protection," Espo grumbled because it usually meant a brick wall.

"There's one person who would know. Hard Candy." Kate smiled and walked away.

"Ooo. Good luck with that." Espo was sure she wouldn't tell Kate shit.

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Kate was sitting at home eating her Chinese take-out that she'd picked up on the way home. It was another evening like many others. It was only the three of them. Me-myself-and-I. Just like always.

She wasn't in the mood for TV or a movie and tonight of all nights she was wondering where her life was going. She had gotten into police work so she could find out who had killed her mother. Yet after a year of therapy she'd finally stopped trying before it destroyed her. Her life had to be worth more than just this one case. A case that she didn't have a single solitary lead to follow. She had literally nothing and when she stopped eating for a moment to look around, she still had nothing. Not even a decent dating prospect. Being a homicide detective, it seemed, wasn't conducive to getting a nice guy to say yes if she asked or got him to ask once he knew.

She pushed the carton aside and dropped her chopsticks; she'd lost her appetite. Then someone knocked at her door. She groaned, definitely not the mood for another one of Lanie's forays into what she was doing with her life.

Except looking out her peep hole it wasn't Lanie that she saw. It was a middle aged man in a suit, so she unlocked and unchained the door to open it.

"Ms. Katherine Beckett? Daughter of Johanna and James Beckett?" he inquired after she opened the door.

"Yes, can I help you?" She had never seen him before and he looked harmless.

"May I see some ID, please." He needed to be certain.

"May I ask why?" Why would anyone need to see her ID? Especially if he knew this much already. It looked like he was ready for that question since he reached into a pocket and took out a business card.

He handed it to her and introduced himself. "I'm Trevor Kelley."

"An attorney. My dad's an attorney but he doesn't live here." Her dad didn't live anywhere near here or so it felt.

"Yes, I know. I'm here to see you. ID, please," Kelley asked again.

"Sure." Kate had dropped everything in the kitchen after getting home with her dinner so she didn't have far to go. Even her weapon was still there.

Kate handed it to him and watched him look it over. "Thank you." He gave it back to her and asked, "May I come in? I have something I need to go over with you."

"Um…sure." Kate got out of the way as he came over to the sofa where she had left her dinner on the coffee table. She closed the door then followed him to the sofa, sitting down with considerable distance between them, just in case.

He opened his briefcase and leafed through his papers. "Do you remember one Abigail McKenzie?" he inquired.

Kate needed to search her memory for that name. It had been a very long time. "My aunt. I haven't seen her since I was a little kid. Maybe 12 or 13 years old, if that."

"Quite correct. Your mother's only sister to be exact. I regret to inform you that she passed away last month." Kelley was used to telling people that loved ones were dead so he just did it and got it over with.

"I barely knew her. I think I only ever met her once. I think we stayed there something like one or two days at best. What did she die of?" Kate asked. She really didn't need another murder to investigate. Besides if she remembered correctly she didn't even live in this state last she knew.

"She passed away from natural causes. In her sleep I was told. It was peaceful and painless, I assure you." She didn't need to worry that she had been killed or that it was from prolonged illness.

"I still don't see what this has to do with me. I doubt she even remembered me."

"She apparently remembers you. She has left you complete control over the inn she owned and was running," Kelley revealed.

"Me!? Why would she leave me anything? You're sure you have the right person?" There had to be a mistake. Why would someone she barely even knew and had only met once when she was little long ago leave her anything. Maybe a postcard or at best a letter, but why an inn?

"No mistake." He handed her his first piece of paper. "Here's the address."

"Magical Inn. …Holly, Connecticut? Where in the world is Holly, Connecticut?" Yes, she had met her aunt that one time and they'd gone to see her, however she didn't remember where. Truth be told she hadn't really wanted to go. She didn't even remember the inn or the name of it.

Now he brought out a map that had a circle on it. "It's just off of US Highway 1, south of Interstate 95, east of New London, and just minutes from the border with Rhode Island." He let Kate look at the map. "Based on research it's quite the little city and based on what I've been able to obtain her inn is very popular." He dug out another piece of paper and handed it to her.

"That's the occupancy rate for the inn over just the last 10 years. You'll note that at no time does it dip below 78%, even in the middle of summer. You'll also note the occupancy rate for the last 10 years in the month of December." Trevor pointed out something that might shock her.

"100%. …In December?" Kate looked it over yet again just to make sure she wasn't reading it incorrectly.

"Those rates will change a little soon. Thanks to her death last month the people in the inn were the last. Everyone who had reservations were refunded their deposits and the inn is currently closed. It is at present empty and all locked up."

Kate opened and closed her mouth a couple of times. "Why? Even if she did leave the inn to me why would they close it? That puts people out of work." That didn't make any sense.

"It was a stipulation of your late aunt. Once you arrive and take possession of the inn it can be reopened. Admittedly that's very unusual but she made it part of her will so people were forced to abide by her wishes."

It still didn't make any sense to her. "Just how big is this place?" She didn't remember it but maybe it was a stupid little Motel 6 or something similar.

That had him fishing out yet another piece of paper. "There are sixty-three rooms and suites spread out over three floors. Roughly 40% of the rooms require the use of stairs." He gave that page to Kate who read it as well.

"The inn started out as the retirement home of General Robert Perry following his successes in the War of 1812. After his death it changed hands and became a college for young women. It remained that through the Civil War and the following depression. It was during this time that it's believed that several Civil War soldiers became ghosts and haunt the inn to this day. As I understand it that's part of the appeal of the place. People love ghost stories and want to see a real live ghost. Or dead ghost as it may be. During this time it became a nursing school for women while the grounds themselves became a training ground for riflemen. However, the Great Depression, typhoid fever, and a declining enrollment eventually took its toll. The school was closed in 1932, standing idle for several years.

"Most of the records for who technically owned the place were lost thanks to the events of that time. For a period of time the facility was used to house actors and actresses appearing in theater. Then in 1935 the place was converted into a hotel. Finally in 1972 it was purchased by the McKenzie family. Over a period of years it was modernized. Lead piping was replaced. Gas lights had already been replaced with electrical lights. The knob and tube wiring was replaced with copper. The waste system was connected to the city sewer system. It was repainted to what it is today.

"The last renovation that I can find any information on was having the roof replaced with a metal roof as well as replaced the plumbing and waste piping yet again with a better quality pipe." He handed Kate the paperwork that he had generated showing its history. "In total over its various renovations several million dollars have been spent repairing, replacing and upgrading much of it."

"What am I supposed to do with an inn? I'm a homicide detective in New York City. I don't know anything about running an inn." This was just all nuts. Her aunt was nuts.

"At present the inn is worth millions. Based on the occupancy numbers it's a well loved inn, especially in the month of December," Kelley pointed out. "The people that were employed there are expecting you to arrive and reopen the inn so they can get their jobs back." That was just one item to put pressure on her.

"There's one additional stipulation in her will. You must take possession of the inn within the month of December or sell it within that month. Should you fail to do either it will revert to ownership of the town and you will get nothing.

Kelley hit her with everything else. "One final thing to keep in mind. Should you take possession of the inn, you and you alone will be responsible for all of the financial stipulations of running the inn. Electric, water, gas, trash, maintenance, cable TV or satellite, home heating oil since much of that state uses home heating oil for heating and phone. Not to mention the salaries of the staff after the month of December. Your aunt left just enough money to cover the average expenses for the month of December and that's all. You need to be in the inn and take possession of it by December first of this year."

"December first is like two weeks from now. You expect me to get time off work to be there by December first?" He had lost his mind. Her captain might go for it, but he might not.

"Not me, Ms. Beckett. Your aunt does. Take possession of it and run it or sell it. You only have the month of December to decide what you want to do. Otherwise it will become the property of the city of Holly, Connecticut," Kelley corrected her.

"One month and two weeks. …No pressure then." Kate gave him a weak smile.

"Here are all of the keys you'll need to open any lock on the property. Keep in mind as of 1995 the inn became an official historic property. If you decide to keep it and want to make changes any of those changes will need to be approved by local historic codes which I'm told are very strict. Also historic properties are traditionally worth far more," Kelley informed her. Doing anything to the inn wouldn't be as simple as doing it because she wanted to.

"I'll let myself out. Good luck, Ms. Beckett. You may not remember your aunt, however she clearly remembered you." Kelley closed his case and stood. "December, Ms. Beckett, that's all you have." He walked to the door, opened it, and closed it behind him.

Kate went back to one of the first pages. "Magical Inn. Holly, Connecticut." She searched for that map again. A closer look showed that it was maybe 30 minutes outside of New London, Connecticut on the coast and maybe another 30 minutes to the state border with Rhode Island.

It was cool in New York at the moment thanks to what was being called an Indian summer. However she was betting this place had snow on the ground and lots of it or at least would eventually be covered in deep snow. She had liked snow when she was a kid. But she was an adult now and snow was just one big pain in her ass.

"What am I supposed to do with an inn?" This was nuts. She searched her paperwork again. "Sixty-three rooms and suites on three floors." Sixty-three rooms didn't sound that big. How big could it be? And just what the hell was she thinking? She was a homicide detective not an innkeeper. "Ghosts, my ass." Hollywood might love ghosts but ghosts didn't exist. Still if it brought customers because they thought it was haunted.

"Homicide detective." She had worked really hard to get this far. Suffered the whispers and insults to her face coming up the ranks. Not to mention all that work in Vice and those disgusting outfits she had worn and the scum men she had met. It was almost amazing that she wasn't a lesbian after that, but she wasn't. Even if it had been a while.

What did she know about being an innkeeper even if she did now own one. At least until the end of December. Now she needed a plan on what to do about this.

She was in the middle of a case, so this week was out. Still she should at least look at it. Besides it was all locked up and she needed it open so that the people employed there could go back to work. He had said the money was there for that.

"I don't own a car." She was going to need one to get there. So she could rent one for say a week while she looked it over and began work on finding a buyer. Maybe someone local would buy it. But the attorney had said it was worth millions. Who in a small town would have millions to purchase it?

She could ask for time off for a week tomorrow as she explained to Roy why she suddenly needed a week off. She groaned. Yeah, that was going go over real well. Especially when Kevin and Javi found out. One of them would most certainly blab to Lanie and she just knew what Lanie would say.

Well one thing was for certain. Her life wasn't that boring now. Not when she owned an inn in a small city with a population of less than ten thousand in Connecticut. "Holly, Connecticut, no less. So why Holly and why Magical Inn?" She just knew this was going to be bad.


	2. Chapter 2

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 2_

Sorensen stuffed his face with his free doughnut with sprinkles. "What do you want, Kate?"

She explained rather impatiently. "I want to talk to the guy Candy's trying to hide and doing it so very poorly. The mob has found the plastic surgeon that they hired to alter her face. They ripped his fingernails off and broke every finger on one hand. Then left him to suffocate in a plastic bag secured with duct tape.

"He was just a surgeon not a Green Beret. He would have told them everything they wanted to know before they left him to die. Whoever Candy thinks she has hidden away is as good as dead. I want to talk to him before they get to him."

"I would want to do this why?" Sorenson asked even knowing he could ask but might be told to go to hell.

"The surgeon you Feds hired is dead. You got him killed. You're doing it for him and his now ex-fiancée, not me. I want who killed him and you're going to help me.

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"How did it go?" Espo inquired when Kate came back.

"Do the words _unmitigated disaster_ mean anything to you?" That should give them a clue. "He's now so scared that he refuses to testify. Apparently he was the one in the Spilano family that killed using a bag over the head with duct tape." He was a dead end.

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"He's still in surgery. Moran's going to be fine. …Someone followed me. Someone knew about the meet and used me to get to Moran and got Will shot. And if I'd been a better cop I would've seen it coming." She had put on her blinders because it was Will. Because she was still hurt and pissed off at him for leaving her for his precious job with the stupid FBI.

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Kate was in the office at 4:00 in the morning; by 6:00 she had called in Ryan and Espo on a Saturday. "It wasn't the Feds. It was someone we know. Someone we've been talking to. Run checks on the staff," she told them.

"We did, we even checked their alibis for last night when Moran was shot," Ryan insisted.

"Well then check them again and while you're at it check the fiancée again as well. Maybe they didn't love each other nearly as much." Kate went back to studying her white board. She was missing something and it was on this board somewhere. She just had to find it.

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"Beckett!" Espo had something. "This is the Maggie Doud we know. This is the real Maggie Doud." He held up two different pictures, one of which just came in.

That had Kate looking at her board. "Leeds needs a hospital to do all of his work. Like that 9 hour operation on Moran. St. Marcus Medical." Kate tapped that part on her board.

"That's the same hospital that Moran and Sorenson are still in recovering from gun shot wounds," Espo pointed out. All three of them scrambled to get out of the precinct and over to the hospital.

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"Attempted murder of a protected witness. What does that go for these days?" Kate asked so that this fake Maggie Doud knew what it was.

"Twenty-five to life," Candy stated matter-of-factly.

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"The real Maggie Doud is in Seattle. She had no idea her ID had been stolen. Our fake Maggie Doud is also going to roll on the Spilano family. Now the Feds have two. She's been killing for them for the last five years," Kate told Roy.

"Very nice work, Detective, very nice work. You even made it past the spy that had been watching your every move," Roy noted approvingly.

"Um, sir one more thing." She needed time off and now was a good time to ask since he was in a good mood. "An aunt died recently and she left me something. I need a week off starting December first so I can go look at it and figure out what to do with it."

"I'm sorry, Beckett. Losing a family member can be traumatic for anyone." Roy felt for her.

"Actually I hadn't seen her since I was a little girl. I have no idea why she left me anything. Maybe because Mom's gone; I don't know." It was the best she could come up with.

"The week is yours, Beckett. We'll work around it," Roy said.

"Thank you, sir." Kate was hoping a week was enough to get rid of it somehow without just giving it away to the city who would do who knows what with it. What would a tiny city called Holly do with an historic inn anyway?

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Kate had packed for a week, rented a car which turned out to be a Ford Focus. They hadn't had the car size she had reserved so she got an upgrade at no extra cost. Thus far this little trip wasn't starting out too bad.

She had allotted just over three hours to reach the inn in Holly, Connecticut. However, thanks to four construction sites on Interstate 95 it had taken her four hours just to reach New London where she stopped for lunch and filled her gas tank just in case.

It had been a while since she had filled a car with gas and much to her chagrin she had to follow the directions on the pump after she spent an entire fifteen minutes searching for the goddamn gas cap door release handle. At least there was an arrow on the fuel gauge telling her which side the gas cap was on so she didn't feel any more stupid than she already did.

It was a nice enough car. It had cruise control, radio, heating which she found she was using, adjustable seats. But she hadn't splurged for a GPS unit. She had her maps which should be good enough. How hard could it be?

"OH, NO!" She had finally reached the city and saw the sign, Holly, Connecticut. It had a way over the top Christmas theme all over it. The only thing missing were the Christmas lights. Though it wasn't dark out and just past lunch so maybe they simply weren't on yet.

"Well that explains the name Holly. Please tell me Magical Inn isn't a Christmas inn." It wasn't that she hated Christmas. Okay, maybe she did just a little. After her mother was killed not long before Christmas, she and her dad no longer celebrated it. They didn't even buy each other Christmas presents. And she always volunteered to work Christmas so that other officers could get the day off with their families if they celebrated Christmas.

Kate came to a stop at the stop sign and looked down what was probably Main Street. Both sides of the street had shops and each and every store already had Christmas decorations on their storefronts. Worse the street was lined with trees. Tree after tree all the way down the street. As she obeyed the speed limit of 25mph it was easy to spot that every tree from the trunk all the way to the top was wrapped in Christmas lights.

"I'm in so much trouble," she groaned. She was sure of it now. Her maps told her to keep driving so she went though downtown Holly and out the other side. The other side turned into a road that went down close to the coast and she got to see a number of boats tied up to a dock. She saw a number of fishing options for people to rent a boat and go out fishing or buy a ticket and be taken out fishing.

As small towns went it wasn't so bad. According to her map she was almost there. Then she saw a sign telling her to turn and she went up a long, wide, U-shaped drive. Out front she saw a short white picket fence. Driving slowly up the drive she saw a lot of grass, a pair of large trees with a round pool surrounded by dormant rose bushes. In the center of the pool was a large stone fountain.

Kate stopped and looked out her window. It was gorgeous. Simply gorgeous. It had a huge front porch that was filled with white chairs and tables. The first floor and second floor walls were brick. The third floor was a green mansard roof filled with windows. There was another porch on the second floor that reached from side to side.

Opening the door allowed her to feel the cold of the air even with not a cloud in the sky which meant the sun was out.

The stairs she found were on either side of the porch. Walking down it to the large white double doors showed that they weren't just chairs, they were old fashioned rockers. A few chairs weren't and they all had cushions.

Walking up to the door she tried to open it and found it locked. "Keys, Kate." She mentally kicked herself and retreated to her car to search her bag for the keys. It allowed her to gather up all the paperwork and take it with her.

Finding the right key was complete hit and miss until she had the front door open. "OH, MY!" The front entry was just as gorgeous. There was clearly a check-in desk and just beyond was a beautiful wooden staircase that curved and went to the right on the left side of a long hallway. Old paintings on the walls, a beautiful old table with a marble table top in the middle that had an antique vase in the center filled with flowers.

There were white French doors to the right and left. The right looked like a sitting room while the left appeared to be a dining room. She knew her mouth was hanging open but it was all stunningly beautiful.

She could hear her heels tapping on the hard wood floors as she walked into the sitting room. It had a huge beautiful Persian rug on the floor. There were three love seats, two of which matched. The third was tufted red velvet and the other two were overstuffed red velvet. They were big, looked plush, and totally comfortable. There were two end tables with antique lamps on them on either side of one of the love seats. A vintage standing light. A pair of plants. Paintings on the walls. Beautiful linen drapes on the windows.

The walls were all wallpaper but you really didn't notice. Then she saw something and walked over to an end table. It was a phone. A really old fashioned rotary phone, like right out of the 1920s or something. She couldn't resist, she lifted the handset and brought it to her ear; there was a dial tone! "NO WAY!" It actually worked. She set it back in place and moved to the other side.

In here were round tables with fine white Irish linen table cloths, matching white napkins, white coffee cups, sage green carpet, wallpaper on the walls, a beautiful crystal chandelier hanging in the middle, paintings on the walls, and even a mirror above a black marble fireplace. There were four windows that went from floor to ceiling. They had valances but no actual drapes. It looked perfect. There were a pair of doors that she bet led to the kitchen but she went back out into the hallway instead.

She had to decide to go to the far end or go up those beautiful wooden stairs that had a deep burgundy and gold carpet runner going down the middle of the staircase leading up to the hallway with the inn's guest rooms.

Then she saw someone at the far end. "HEY!" This place was locked up and abandoned. Or at least that was what the lawyer had told her so she ran toward him except he walked calmly out of sight.

Kate heard her heels on the wood floor all the way down until she reached a tee intersection. Looking each way showed that there were doors. Except he had gone that way so she turned to go that way.

"EXCUSE ME!" Kate heard and turned to look back at the main doors. Standing there with his hand on his weapon was a uniformed officer. She looked between where her intruder had gone and the officer. She chose the officer. After she had made him happy she could search for her intruder.

Again Kate heard her heels on the wood floors and watched him standing there waiting for her. "I'm Detective Kate Beckett of the New York City police department," Kate told him as she walked closer.

"Beckett! We heard you were coming. I was afraid maybe I had an intruder after I saw the car. Have you got ID on you?" He needed to make sure she was who she said she was.

"Sure." Kate got out her drivers license and handed it to him. He looked it over and then gave it back to her.

"I've added this place to my patrol daily since it was closed. I've checked each and every door every time I come here," he said.

Kate frowned. "Well someone must have gotten in. I just saw a man at the far end of the hall. He disappeared to the left."

"It was all locked up yesterday. Can you describe him?" he asked.

"Male, 6'1" or 6'2", slim, broad shoulders, long brown hair but clean-looking. It looked like he was wearing some kind of suit. Not one I'm familiar with. I only saw him from the side. It was brown, white shirt, I think. That was about all I saw," Kate shrugged.

"I can help you search if you like, but you might want to start with the doors. There are mirrors around this place." She may have seen him in one of those.

"I'll be fine, thank you. I brought a weapon with me. If I find him I'll arrest him and call you. Right now I need to find a way to contact the employees that worked here and get them back in here." She might have money somewhere that she didn't even know where it was to pay bills with. One more thing to do soon.

"You might want to start with the front desk, but I can spread the word. People have been waiting for this inn to open again. Losing Abigail so suddenly was a real blow to this town. This place means a lot," he said. "I'm Sheriff Mike Boughton. Just dial 911 and I'll be here as soon as I can. It's a pleasure to meet you Miss or Ms. Beckett. Is it just you?" Was she here alone?

"Kate will do, thank you. And I'm not married. If I find the guy I'll let you know." She was sure she could handle one lone intruder.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you. It'll be good to have the inn running again. I'll spread the word. Parking, in case you haven't found it yet, is out back." He left her, went back out to his patrol car, and continued on his rounds.

Kate was betting her intruder ran out the way he'd come in. So she made her way back to the front counter to find a list of employees with phone numbers. Then she could go searching for banks to find the account her aunt had left to pay the bills with.

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Most banks didn't close until 5:00 pm so she had time yet. Problem was this place was really big if she wanted to search each and every room. So instead she went around looking for doors or windows that were open and unlocked.

Along the way she saw the kitchen, a sitting room that had several TVs in it along with an incredible 90-inch TV screen that had her looking around for the projector for it that she finally saw it hanging from the ceiling. There was even a wood burning fireplace.

Then she found a conference room with another projection screen. It had six tables, a podium, emergency exit doors that were locked from people on the outside.

Then another conference room right next to that one, only smaller. It had a single long pedestal table with a black marble top and fourteen chairs. It didn't have any doors leading outside but it did have windows that were all locked from the inside.

Then she found a combination library and game room. It had a pair of tables. One had a checker board built into the table top and the other had chess board. Both tables had two large leather chairs that looked really comfortable.

She found herself back in the main hallway and was standing where she had seen him. But everything on this level was all locked up save for the front door she had entered through.

However, she did see three people at the front desk standing there and talking to each other. They were all women and looked young, like early 20s young. Kate walked toward them to find out who they were.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

It turned out they were all part of the hotel maid service and wanted to know if the inn was open again. All Kate could really tell them was to show up in the morning and if she had enough people check in she would open the inn. What she needed was the list of cancellations that had happened because her aunt had died.

It was talking to them that she found out everyone who worked here with the exception of the cooking staff wore period uniforms. If she didn't have any period clothing she might want to go into town and see if she could find something.

Then Kate had opened up her big mouth about keeping their eyes open for a possible intruder when they came back tomorrow. "You saw our ghost already!?" one of them asked, all excited. She had never seen the ghost herself and had not heard what he looked like. All three of them listened to Kate describe him one more time. "He sounds handsome. Why can't I get that lucky?" She was totally bummed.

Kate risked it and asked if they knew what bank Abigail used. All three knew which bank she used since it was on their checks. Yes, Abigail had direct deposit if you wanted it, however they had learned that she took pride in handing out checks to each person and used their first names. They all loved her for it.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate had locked the place up and drove to the bank so she could gain access to the account.

It took her an hour and a half but she was finally leaving the bank with new temporary checks and found out exactly how much money was in the account. It sounded like a fair amount of money to her. But she didn't know how much got spent monthly, especially in December.

She was back at the inn and this time parked in the back. She took out her suitcase, found the key for the back door, and went inside, locking it behind her.

Kate's shoulders slumped. "I forgot to ask where Abigail slept." She hadn't stopped to get anything for dinner either. "I have an entire restaurant to work with. What am I complaining about?" She could just select a room, find a key for it, and stay in it temporarily.

Her search for phone number had shown her that this place used actual keys and not those modern programmable key cards that you put in the lock. Real honest to goodness keys and each one had a different Christmas ornament, no less. She had seen snowflakes, snowmen, candy canes, a wrapped present, and a nutcracker. You name it she thought she had seen it. She had just reached the stairs and was thinking of finding a room and getting a key when she heard knocking on the front door.

Going to the door and opening it she met a tall, slender man who turned out to be the head chef, one of the women that manned the front desk, and one of the waitresses. She got their names but was sure she would forget them. Plus she was only here for a week so what did it matter?

The cook wanted to check the kitchen to find out what needed to be thrown out and make a list of what needed to be bought before they could make even one meal. He even offered to cook her something.

She also found out that her key to Abigail's room had Mrs. Claus on it. Then Kate was shown what was going to be her room while she was here.

"We're all very glad that you're here," Kate was told as she stood there with her mouth hanging open, looking at the room. It was a room, but not just any room.

It had a working wood fired fireplace. Next to it was a live Christmas tree that needed water badly. It was filled with ornaments and lights and was gorgeous. In fact the entire room was gorgeous. The bed was a king-sized sleigh bed that was all red and green save for the dark wood it was made from. It was lovely. It was only listening to her stomach growl that got her to leave the room and lock it behind her.

Kate watched the head chef create a meal for her and listen to his stories about the inn. She learned that the town had only just started putting up all of its Christmas decorations. The inn itself hadn't started and all of it was going to have to come out of the attic and get put up.

Abigail hadn't believed in anything fake. There wasn't going to be a plastic anything being put up. There would be real trees that she would be expected to go out and arrange to have delivered and set up all over the inn. Dining room, sitting room, front porch, second floor porch, and one in the lobby area of the second and third floors. And, yes, they did have enough ornaments to fill each tree. The entire front of the inn was going to lit up with Christmas lights. December was the reason for this town and this inn.

She even heard stories about some of their guests, a few of which came back year after year. And no, he hadn't yet seen their ghost.

Before it went bad he served her a Prime Filet Mignon-6oz House Cut Grilled Filet, Wilted Gorgonzola, Port Wine Tomato Bruschetta Jam, a hint of Demi-Glace,served with Herbaceous Red Potatoes, Asparagus, and a Crispy Onion Garnish


	3. Chapter 3

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 3_

Kate had to admit that the bed was comfortable to sleep in. Save for the Christmas tree that had run out of water and was looking more than a little frazzled it was a really nice room. Everywhere she looked she saw antiques. The bed even though large, looked like an antique. As did the side tables, chair, paintings and various knickknacks. She really loved the armoire that she found was filled with clothing. All of it looked period clothing.

The bathroom was another lovely room. It was period looking as well. Well save for the huge stand in shower. That looked new, really new. There were two pedestal sinks, one toilet that actually had the tank hanging on the wall just above her head. To flush it you pulled the cord. The pipe between the two looked like bright shiny copper.

Then there was the claw foot tub. Admittedly it didn't have jets but Kate didn't need jets to enjoy a tub. An old narrow door showed her the linen closet. Big fluffy towels. "Bath scents! Thank you, Abigail." There was also body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and razors that surprisingly enough were her favorite brand.

There was a window but there was also an exhaust fan. Finally in the middle of the room was a crystal chandelier. Kate reached up to play with a couple pieces just to see if they were plastic and found that they weren't. It was a really nice room and she could learn to like both rooms. They were both far superior to her apartment.

Kate was dressed and needed to start her day. It was going to be a busy day, she was sure. Opening her door she saw a man standing just the other side. He looked oddly familiar. He had taken her by surprise. She blinked her eyes and in that time he'd vanished. "HEY!" Kate looked both ways and decided to chase him down so in her high heels she ran down the wood floor to the closest corner and stopped to look but didn't see him. She looked back the other direction and didn't see anyone.

"How did he do that?" Kate hadn't hallucinated anything so he was real. Great, now she had a mystery. He had certainly looked similar to the man she'd seen earlier. Definitely male, about her age, dressed in a brown suit.

She went back to her door so she could close it and lock it. Then she made her way to the front desk. Once it came into view she saw a number of people; some were in period dress while others were not.

She introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Kate Beckett."

"The new owner! We're happy to meet you," one of the women said with a bright smile. It was mostly women with one man who looked young, maybe early 20s.

"Do you know how many of the staff have shown up this morning?" Kate needed to address them so she needed all of them.

"Most of us. This is a small town and word gets around fast. If they aren't here now they either aren't coming or will be here shortly," she replied.

"Good, spread out and try and find everyone. I want everyone in the largest conference room in thirty minutes," Kate told them. "You are?" She didn't have many names save for the cook.

"I'm Shawn," he said and Kate listened to the others introduce themselves.

"Thirty minutes," Kate repeated and went to the kitchen. In the kitchen she found the entire kitchen staff as well as a few others. "Main conference room, thirty minutes." Then she breathed in deeply. "Did you just make these?" Her nose said yes but she asked anyway.

"We needed to use up a few things before they went bad," the head cook reiterated.

"Well bring all those to the conference room with you. It has tables." Kate picked one up and ate it while savoring the taste of it as she walked somewhere else.

She found another small group out back and since one of the them was in period clothing she told them to be in the conference room in thirty minutes.

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Kate was standing at the podium and watched as they arrived in small groups or one at a time. "Is this everyone?" she called out and was told that there were still two people missing. "I can talk to them later." Kate couldn't resist. The smell alone was getting to her so she walked to the table and took one more cinnamon roll and went back to the podium.

"My name is Kate Beckett. Abigail McKenzie was my aunt, my late mother's sister. I'm a homicide detective in New York City. I'm not an innkeeper." Kate had a lot she wanted to cover but she got interrupted right then.

"Does that mean you plan on selling it?" someone asked.

"I don't really know anything about running an inn, so yes, at the moment I plan on selling it," Kate admitted. They needed to know what was going to happen.

"Great, some Japanese guy will buy it and never set foot in the place again," someone else grumbled.

Kate could tell that they had gotten used to having Abigail being the on site owner. But that wasn't her. "I'm sorry but it's the right thing for me and you. Abigail left only enough money for December and that's all. I don't know what it costs monthly yet but I'm very sure it's above my pay grade. So to keep it open and you all employed it needs to be sold to someone who can afford to keep it open and I can't."

"We do however need to get started. I need a volunteer to go through the reservations that were canceled, see if you can call them, and ask them if they want to keep their reservations." Kate saw a hand come up. "Great, you get the job."

"Next I need someone to find the website since I'm betting this place has one. If it says the inn's closed that needs to be removed and someone needs to see if reservation requests are piling up and if we can accommodate them. That person will need to coordinate with whoever's making calls for old reservations." Kate saw two hands being raised.

"Wonderful! You three need to talk. Since the inn's been closed I'm betting we need to strip all the beds and wash everything. Sheets, towels, whatever. Hopefully the housekeeping staff is all here." Kate raised her hand and saw a bunch of hands being raised.

"Perfect. Another thing. I need a volunteer or two or thee. If you find dust, clean it. So find the vacuum cleaner and if there's carpet start cleaning. Since most of the floors are hardwoods you'll need to clean those as well. I have carpet at home so I don't know how to do that. But if it even looks dirty and you think it is, clean it." A few hands went up.

"I've seen plants in pots all over the place and if they're as dry as the Christmas tree in my room I need a volunteer to find them all and give them some water and plant food before they die, if they aren't dead already. As you water make a list. If they're dead we need to replace them." Kate nodded when she saw another hand.

"Do you work the grounds or do you know if you have a company come do it?" It looked really nice so she was betting a company.

"Abigail hired a company to come out weekly. The number should be at the front desk somewhere," someone offered.

"Great, someone else for whoever is calling to contact. Get them out here weekly starting as soon as they can." Kate saw a familiar hand go up.

"Kitchen, the cook and I need to go shopping. I didn't see anything perishable in the kitchen earlier so hopefully you know what you need to cook what's on the menu," Kate called out as the cook raised his hand and nodded.

"Perfect. Today is phone calls and cleaning. Tomorrow will be something else I just don't know what yet," Kate told them.

"Christmas decorations," someone mentioned.

"Right Christmas. …Whoever spoke up you're now in charge of that. Find them and start installing it all." Kate would teach her to open her big mouth.

"Questions?" Kate asked.

"You sure you don't know anything? Because it sure sounds like you do," someone pointed out.

"I'm pretty sure this is the easy stuff. So yes, I'm sure. Anyone else?" Kate looked around the room.

"We need Christmas trees. Abigail went out and selected them and had them delivered," someone informed her.

"Trees, right. …Right after I shop for food. As soon as I figure out where that is." Kate didn't know anything about this town or even close to this town.

Then Kate saw a hand go up. "Yes?" She didn't need to raise her hand to ask a question. None of the others had bothered.

"I can help with the trees, if you can drive." It was a young woman who was maybe 19 or 20 at best.

"I'll come find you after I get back from shopping for groceries," Kate said to her and watched her smile.

"Have you seen our ghost yet?" Kate was asked.

"No. Let's get busy people. We're an inn so we need guests. OH! The bank gave me the pay for everyone. You can expect that it won't change until after the place is sold. Let's get to work." Kate left the podium and made her way to the cook so they could go shopping.

Kate watched as everyone left and spoke to the head cook. "I have room for four." He was picking while she paid for it using her temporary checks she had gotten from the bank.

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Kate stopped as the three of them reached the back door. She caught a glimpse of him and turned to look. Sure enough he was just standing there in a doorway until he stepped aside.

"Did you two see…" There was no way she was going to say ghost. He was either an intruder or a part of the staff.

"See what?" Both of them turned to look the direction she was looking. "Did you see our ghost?" the man that was kitchen staff asked her.

"No. Let's go." Kate went out the door and missed seeing these two looking at each other and silently holding a conversation.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate found out that in order to get daily deliveries started again they needed to go to New London and talk to the company they were used to using.

While that helped for tomorrow, they needed food now so they went shopping for what they needed for today.

"Don't believe in ghosts, I take it?" Kate was asked by head cook Curt Swearingin as they selected melons.

"Hollywood may like them but no, ghosts don't exist." Kate was here to pay for what these two selected not select any of it.

"Yet you saw someone when we were leaving," Curt pointed out.

"An intruder. I'll catch him eventually and have him arrested. That will solve that problem." Kate would get him eventually, she was sure of it.

"So you've seen him before?" Curt was all smiles only Kate didn't bite. "It doesn't sound like you're a big fan of Christmas, either." She was in big trouble if she didn't, especially around here.

Kate moaned. She needed to get a handle on all this somehow. "Not anymore. It's a personal thing and I'd appreciate it if we didn't talk about it."

"I won't press, but this inn and town are all about Christmas. For this inn and the town to be successful everyone needs to love or at least like Christmas," Curt warned her and moved to the scallions.

"So I'm learning. But I only need to be here for a week. It's all the vacation time I have. I'm sure whoever buys this place will learn to love Christmas. It just isn't going to be me," Kate informed him briskly and followed him to the next section as his helper came back to their carts with what he had found.

"When we're done here we need to go to the company that bakes our bread and delivers it," Curt warned her.

"I thought we just did that?" They had arranged for daily deliveries already.

"That was for produce, fish, meat, and other seafood. They don't handle the bread. That's a different company. That one is a local-to-Holly place that we can stop at on the way back. Made fresh daily and delivered to us each day. The smell alone will sell you." It got to Curt each time he went to that place.

"Anything else I should know about? Milk, ice cream, butter." Kate was moaning. She knew it wasn't going to be simple but did it have to be this involved?

"Well now that you mention it…" Curt watched Kate slump. "Once you arrange for daily deliveries you don't ever have to do it again. You'll get the hang of it." Even if she wasn't staying to learn any of this.

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Kate was helping to carry the fresh stuff they had bought in New London into the inn and to the kitchen. They had stopped to order daily bread deliveries. Then a daily delivery of milk, cream, and butter. Ice cream was a weekly delivery. She had written it all down and had kept her receipts so she could adjust her bank account for this place later.

"You're back!" Her 20-year-old volunteer for tree buying had found her.

Kate was momentarily at a loss. "Christmas trees, right. Let me drop these and I'll meet you at the back door." Kate continued to the kitchen.

"Christmas." Kate groaned. She didn't hate Christmas or at least that was what she was still telling herself. It was just that all this Christmas was beginning to get to her and she was fearing it had only just started.

"Think of them as trees. They aren't Christmas trees until you decorate them," Curt offered as he began putting away all that they had bought. "Do you know what you want me to make for the staff tonight?" Abigail didn't normally feed the staff. This was going to be a one off thanks to the circumstances.

"I'm going to leave that to you. You selected everything we brought back so you must have an idea. I have more shopping to do anyway."

Kate had barely made it out of the kitchen when someone with a watering can stopped her. "Your room's locked so I can't water that tree. If it has done without water for this long it will probably need to be replaced," she warned her.

"I'll add it to the list. Thanks." Kate was actually wondering if she could just remove it from her room. But whoever replaced her might want the tree so she was going to have to buy one extra tree.

"If you're done watering you can switch to cleaning. Talk to Curt, he may have a lot to clean in the kitchen," Kate called over her shoulder.

Kate saw her girl was right where she'd left her. Since she couldn't resist she looked down that same hallway and saw him standing there in the doorway again. Then he stepped away.

Curious, the girl looked at what she was looking at. "Did you just see our ghost? Why can't I ever see our ghost? This is so not fair!" She was totally bummed out.

"It's just an intruder that I need to catch and have arrested. He looks harmless enough. Just doesn't belong here," Kate explained and went out the door.

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They were driving where Kate was being told to go. Kate had learned her name was Bailey.

"They named me Bailey after George Bailey from _It's a Wonderful Life__,__" _Bailey had explained.

"So where are we going exactly?" Kate inquired.

"The Boy Scout Christmas tree lot. Abigail liked the idea of helping the local Boy Scouts. Giving back to the local town. Since we'll be buying so many they'll deliver them for us. At least they have in the past," Bailey said.

Kate found that she actually did like the idea. She had thought they might be headed for a farm and buying from them, but this sounded better. It turned out to be someone's parking lot and yes, it was filled with trees. They were definitely shaped like Christmas trees and they were even advertised to be Christmas trees.

"Bailey!" A man about her dad's age hugged the young woman.

"Hi, Mr. Brees. This is Kate Beckett, the new owner of the inn. We're here for our annual Christmas trees to be delivered," Bailey informed him.

"Ms. Beckett. A pleasure. Opening the inn is a big thing for this town." He shook her hand and waited for her to tell him what she needed and when.

"Let's see, we need one for the sitting room," Kate began and saw him hold up a finger which she found amusing. "One for the dining room, front entry, game room, second and third floors." Five more fingers. "Two for the front ground floor porch and two for the second floor porch." Four more fingers. "One for my room. It's too old and dried out to stay." Kate was done.

Brees was standing there with all ten of his fingers showing. "One for the roof maybe?" He teased since it would make a nice round dozen in number instead of eleven.

"Actually maybe we could use a 12th tree and give it away in a drawing. Drop a business card in a fish bowl and draw one at random. Give it away a few days before Christmas," Kate suggested since she had just thought of it.

"That's a great Idea!" Bailey was onboard.

"Twelve it is then. Will tomorrow before lunch work for you?" Brees asked Kate.

"We have all day to get the decorations up. Hopefully we have enough people for that." She had seen a large group in the conference room even if she hadn't added up just how many people were working there.

"I'll send the Boy Scout troop to help you if you'll feed them while they're there. Lunch, maybe dinner. I have four here so maybe six if their parents all agree," Brees offered.

"Sold! We're getting food deliveries in the morning so we should have enough. Curt can just cook for a few more." Kate presently had two names down and wasn't sure just how many she was going to know before she left.

"We'll be there and however many of the scouts can come. I'll make sure the boys have their phone numbers for their parents to come get them when you or they are done," Brees smiled.

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"Well that was easy." Kate hadn't minded that a bit. She didn't have to walk around and select each tree by hand. Every tree was the same cost and she didn't have to decorate any of them. One check and she was done.

"Now we get to start putting up Christmas decorations." Bailey sounded so enthusiastic.

"I take it you like Christmas," Kate commented.

"Who doesn't? It's a magical time of year. …Get it? Magical Inn, magical Christmas." Bailey was all smiles.

"Yeah, I get it." Kate was beginning to understand why the name of the inn and the name of the town. She couldn't help but wonder what it had been called before changing it to Holly. It couldn't have possibly started out that way.

They were about to turn and go a different direction toward the coast. "Um, what's that big thing out that way?" It was big and not just tall. It was heavily rusted and she thought she saw several smoke stacks.

"That's the old steel mill. It used to make railroad rails, railroad freight cars, and other things. It was closed before I was even born. Now the area is used to make Christmas decorations. Not the mill itself but the area around it. If there's something Christmas that you want, that's the place to go. Mom and Dad say they ship to places worldwide. It is _the _place to shop for Christmas presents.

"I've even written my letter to Santa and mailed it already." Bailey was beaming and smiling wide. …Until she turned to look at Kate. "You don't believe in Santa, do you?" If she didn't believe she would soon or go mad.

"I stopped believing years ago. I was just a little girl. Way younger than you are. We didn't have a fireplace." How was he supposed to come down the fireplace and leave presents if they didn't have one for him to use?

"Seriously?" That was a stupid reason so far as she was concerned. "Santa doesn't care if you have a fireplace or not. He brings his own fireplace for him to come down so he can deliver presents. How could you not know that?" Something was clearly wrong with Kate.

"You live in the wrong place. You should stay here. This place will change your life." Bailey was sure she was living in the wrong place. "Stay here. You need to stay here. Where you live can't be anywhere near as nice as this." Bailey couldn't imagine living anywhere else. She even worked in that Christmas area just outside of the old steel mill, earning money for college.

"Unless you hate snow. We might even get snow for Christmas. Now that would be magical." Bailey was bubbling over with Christmas.


	4. Chapter 4

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 4_

Kate rolled over and remembered that today was going to be day…three out of her week of vacation. So far she had spent it trying to get the place open and functional. What she needed to commence soon was her search for a buyer or she might not be here when he wanted to come see it and talk to her.

Sitting up, she looked at her personal Christmas tree. It was looking pretty sickly. Getting on her hands and knees to look at the floor showed her that there were a lot of needles that had fallen on the floor. It had to go before it caught fire and burned the entire place down.

She was probably going to find someone to help her. Her first thought was getting Bailey to help her. If she cared so much about Christmas, she might be willing.

Since she was partly up she got up, stripped, and went into the bathroom. It really was a nice bathroom. She was even learning to love her room. Actually the entire place was just her style. Lots of wood everywhere, dark inlaid wood lined the floors, plus all the antiques that were everywhere.

Once she was clean, dry, and dressed she unlocked her door and opened it. She instantly saw _him! _"Stop right there!" Her weapon was in her room but it wasn't on her. Neither were her cuffs. Amazingly she watched him stop in his tracks but he kept his back to her.

He had made it about six feet away from her and she took her first step to reach him.

"She's dead, isn't she?" The tone of his voice sounded like he was in pain. That Abigail's passing had some how affected him deeply and was ripping his heart wide open.

"Yes, she died in her sleep a few weeks ago." Kate took a couple more steps until she was almost next to him.

She watched him turn to face her and all she saw was pain and tears. A type of pain her heart knew only too well. The type of pain she had felt when her mother had been killed. A pain that bared your very soul. "What's your name and how did you know Abigail?" She couldn't keep looking at that face or she was going to break out crying with him. Instead she looked at what he was wearing.

It was a suit that was brown with little black thread throughout all of it. The coat was really long, almost to his knees. She caught a glimpse of his vest that was made of the same material. His shirt was perfectly white and he was wearing a real bow tie. No one wore bow ties anymore.

"Richard," he told her, his voice cracking from the pain. Then she blinked and he vanished. It was like he faded away but it only took a fraction of a second.

"HEY!" Kate turned to look everywhere. Then she searched the walls in that spot to find the secret door he had somehow managed to slip through. There had to be a reasonable explanation as to how he managed to get away from her so quickly.

A staff member found her searching a wall. "What are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for a secret panel or room or something." Something that would explain what she had seen.

"We don't have any secret panels or secret rooms. We only have a ghost, not secret doors or rooms." She considered what Kate was saying. "You saw him, didn't you? You saw our ghost. …Dang it, I never get to see him." Her luck was holding and by that she meant her bad luck.

"It was _not_ a ghost. I just don't know how he got in or out yet. But I will, mark my words." She was going to figure out how he did that. "You want something?" Kate needed off this subject. Ghosts didn't exist and she just needed to figure out how he did it.

"The website has been updated and we're already getting reservations. So far only about 50% of the people we have called have renewed their previous reservation. The rest have probably found somewhere else to go. We still have several numbers to call but this might be our first December that we don't make 100% capacity." She was shaking her head. Their perfect record just might be ruined.

"It's just one day, think positive. We need to get started on those decorations and all those trees are going to show up this morning. If you see Bailey send her my way. I have a job for her," Kate said.

"Yes, ma'am. I mean, Kate." She turned and left Kate behind to keep searching her walls looking for a ghost.

Kate was back to looking at the wall but she heard Melody speak to someone. "She saw our ghost."

Kate turned to look but both of them were out of sight. "Ghosts don't exist," Kate told anyone within earshot. However, her heart was still seeing the look on his face. He cared, whoever he really was. She shook her head and needed to clear her mind before she started to relive the pain of losing her mother all over again.

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Stepping into the kitchen her nose told her that the cook or someone was here and had made coffee. It wasn't just any coffee, either. They had one of those new fancy espresso machines and she found a cup that had the foam made to look like a Christmas tree. "Naturally." It didn't stop her from sipping it, feeling it go down her throat, and get her humming as it hit her system.

She sighed. "I'm going to miss this part too." Besides the bed, the bathroom, and all the antiques, and just the decor of the entire place.

Kate went to the front desk and heard Adam on the phone trying to convince someone that their reservation could be re-established and that the inn was open again.

"Sheriff Boughton. What can I help you with?" Her friendly sheriff was here.

"Just making sure you were open so I didn't need to keep checking on the place daily," the sheriff explained.

"Open 24 hours. All we need is for some guests to show up. For now we're just getting everything clean and all rooms ready for guests. We should be fully ready tomorrow though we may still be doing a few things." Kate was hoping most of the decorations would soon be ready tomorrow with the help of those Boy Scouts.

"How's your intruder?" He remembered she had complained of one last time.

"I'm still looking. I'll find him if he's here, never fear." Kate just needed to find that secret door he had used to escape her.

"Well it sounds like you have everything under control. It'll be good to have this inn up and operational again. A number of local businesses look forward to having your guests going into town and spending money. The Christmas season is their big moment for sales. I'll leave you to it." The sheriff left, happy the place was open.

Kate listened to the man on the phone asking if they still wanted their reservations since they were open again. Looking at the woman next to her she was on her laptop looking at booking requests and needing to check if they had an opening before approving it.

Then they were both off. "How we doing?"

"The week before and after Christmas is now full. We've even got a few for the week after New Years. Our first guest so far doesn't show up for another week. Everyone in that range have all made other arrangements." They were so far idle for another week.

Kate let her head fall to her chest. "And I just arranged for daily deliveries that we don't need."

"It's still early in the day. We've only just started," Adam reminded her.

"Let's hope so or this month is going to be a disaster." One week with no guests and she was going to be gone in a few days wasn't going to help her sell this place. Which reminded her, she needed to look into that. The big question was where to begin?

Bailey showed up. "You wanted to see me, Kate?"

"Yes. I have a job for you. Follow me." Kate left the front desk and hurried to her room. She unlocked the door and let Bailey see her tree.

"Oh, my!" Bailey saw a problem right away.

"We need something to put all these ornaments and lights into and get this tree out of here before it burns the inn down."

"No kidding. I'll find some boxes and we can get started." Bailey left the room and went in search of boxes. Even she knew the new trees weren't going to show up until tomorrow.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate and Bailey had everything in two boxes that were now on her bed. "Do you think we can handle getting this out the back door?" Kate asked her.

"I'll take the top and you can have the bottom. We need to loosen the screws holding it in place first. Hold it level for me," Bailey requested and dropped to her hands and knees and loosened the screws that held into in place.

Bailey was back up. "Ready." Together they both lifted the sad tree. They took it out the door and made it outside. They dropped it next to the bin and headed back inside. Bailey went in a different direction in search of a vacuum cleaner to pick up all the dead needles in Kate's room and all the way to the back door.

"Thanks, Bailey, you're the best." Kate's gratitude showed in her eyes.

"Happy to help, Kate." Then Bailey tried again. "You should still think about staying. Holly is way better than New York City."

"Where are you planning on going to college? I'm betting there isn't one in Holly," Kate countered.

"Yale, I'm going to Yale University. I have a scholarship," Bailey replied.

Kate tried think about that but the location of that university escaped her so she shook her head.

"Yale's in New Haven, Connecticut. Costs for students that live in the state are less than for those living outside of the state. Plus it's actually a good school and at least a little close to home," Bailey explained.

"What are you majoring in?" Kate inquired.

"Nursing. Yale has a good program if I can afford to go there. The scholarship helps but it's why I need this job," Bailey admitted.

"My best friend back in New York is a medical examiner. Nursing sounds like a sound plan. I wish you all the best." Kate squeezed her hand. "Now let's go find what we can clean now." She walked out of her room after locking it behind her to find what needed to be worked on next.

It was just her luck; it wasn't cleaning. It was putting up Christmas decorations.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

It was 4:00 pm and Kate retreated to her room while just about everyone was outside putting up Christmas decorations, which happened to include full size nutcrackers. Meaning they were made of wood and six feet tall. They were the biggest, heaviest things she had seen in a long time.

Kate went through her paperwork and found the attorney that had gotten her out here. She was going to speak with him about how to find a person that would buy this inn and take it off her hands.

She quickly found out that he could do some research and provide her with some names. At $550 an hour. She promptly hung up on him. She'd decided that she wasn't that desperate to find a buyer. It might take him an entire eight hour day to find her just two names only to find out that neither of them were interested.

It left her with one choice. "Hi, Dad."

"Katie! What do I owe the pleasure of your phone call? My day is open this weekend if you want to meet and have dinner somewhere." Just so long as it wasn't the same restaurant they had been waiting for Johanna to join them in. That restaurant no longer existed for them.

"I need some help. Do you remember someone named Abigail McKensie?" Kate asked him.

"Johanna's sister, if I remember correctly. She was older than your mom by a few years so she should be somewhere in her 60s, I think. I forget where she lives now. …Why?" Katie hadn't shown any interest in their relatives very much before.

"I learned a couple of days ago that she passed away," Kate replied tiredly.

"Oh, no. I think I remember Johanna talking about her having one or more health issues but I don't remember what they were," Jim told her.

"Apparently she died in her sleep due to natural causes. However in her will she left me this inn in a little city called Holly in Connecticut," Kate said.

"She left you an _inn _? I seem to remember we visited her years upon years ago when you were really little. I think it was an inn but don't recall just where at the moment," he recollected.

"Thanks for making me feel old." Kate rolled her eyes. So far he was a big help.

"Sorry. So she left you an inn. Have you seen it? What condition is it in?" With her luck it was a dump.

"I'm there now, actually. It's a Christmas inn called Magical Inn in Holly, Connecticut, and actually it's a really beautiful place once you over look all the Christmas stuff. It's truly gorgeous." Kate looked around her room yet again and with the tree gone she could see it all. She still liked it, maybe just a bit more now. Then she pushed one of the boxes filled with Christmas decorations a little farther away.

"Sounds like you like it so what's the problem?" Jim didn't understand.

"I have a job, Dad. I'm a homicide detective in New York City. I don't know anything about running an inn." That was the problem as she saw it.

"How long have you been there and what have you done since you've been there? I know you and you can't say nothing." Jim beat her to that crossing.

"I…" Kate thought about all that she had done so far. She'd taken charge and was allocating jobs to other people to get things done.

"So what's the problem? I'm betting if you like it as much as you've told me already that it pays better than your job as a homicide detective," Jim challenged her.

"I've worked hard to be a homicide detective. I'm not just throwing that away because my crazy aunt left me an inn in nowhere Connecticut," Kate argued.

"Nowhere, really? Nowhere, Katie, is the middle of Cambodia or maybe Panama. Connecticut isn't nowhere, so what's the real problem?" Jim waited patiently for her to answer.

"I'm not sure I want it. This town is all Christmas 24/7, every day of the week, all year long. It's just not me." It hadn't been for a long time.

"Then why did you call me? You were the one who decided Santa Clause didn't exist," Jim reminded her.

Suddenly Kate heard every word Bailey had said to her about not believing in Santa Claus.

"I need to sell it. It's worth millions. I have until the end of December to sell it or change my mind and keep it. It reverts to the city of Holly otherwise. I need your help to find people that want to buy it. I'm not sure I want for the city to just get it. Abigail may be of questionable sanity in leaving it to me. Especially when she could've just left it to the city. I mean, why me? She didn't even know me." Kate still didn't understand why her. "The attorney that got me out here thanks to Aunt Abigail wanted $550 an hour to help me."

"And I cost a lot less since I'm your father."

"When you put it like that it makes it sound bad. …Will you help me, Dad?" Kate needed help since she didn't even know where to start, except for finding some real estate agent somewhere.

Jim remained silent for a time as he thought about this. He had a lot of options and most of them were a bit selfish since he wasn't happy that Katie had chosen to be a homicide detective. It was a dangerous job. But he was also her father. He sighed. "Yeah, I'll help you. Just don't yell at me if I don't find anyone or they don't want to pay too much for it and then want to tear it down and build a condominium instead."

"A condominium. Would they really do that?" Kate looked around her room and thought about what she thought of the inn when she had first seen it.

"Anything's possible, Katie. Have you considered an option you haven't mentioned?" Jim had an idea for her to think about.

"What option?" There were only the three options that she could see.

"You keep the inn. Hire someone to run it for you while you live in New York. Go out there to look it over once a month. Then sell it later. Who says you have to sell it by the end of December?" Jim inquired.

"The attorney did based on the wishes of Aunt Abigail in her will," Kate grumbled.

"Oh." That sounded rather weird to Jim but it was possible. You could do just about anything in a will. "I guess she must have had a reason. Give it a chance, Katie. Are you really happy being a homicide detective in New York City? I can't tell you what to do," Jim said knowing even if he did she would do the exact opposite and never look back. "Just do what makes you happy. That's all your mother and I ever wanted for you. Give it a week and if you still want to sell it I'll help you find someone or at least a company that can sell it for you."

"Thanks, Dad. I appreciate this. I'll talk to you later. Bye for now." Kate ended the call.

Her initial problem was that she only had one week of vacation and her dad wanted her to give the place a week before he would help her. That left her three weeks to sell it. She didn't know if even one month was enough time.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had more Christmas stuff to help with. She could do this! Exhaling, she went to the door and opened it and was startled to see that man standing right in front of her door. Last time he'd looked like his heart was broken. This time he looked really angry. "You can't sell it. I won't allow it. I own this building and I refuse to allow you to sell it. I don't know what Abigail was thinking but I won't allow you to sell what isn't yours," he informed her, his eyes blazing in fury. Then he simply vanished right in front of her face. Just like a lot of those ghosts in Hollywood movies always did.

Kate was left standing there with her mouth hanging open; she reached out to where he'd been standing and found nothing. He hadn't stepped through a secret door this time. In fact he hadn't moved at all. He hadn't even pointed his finger at her. He had just yelled at her. She was still standing there with her mouth hanging open as her brain tried desperately to come up with an explanation that didn't involve him being a ghost.


	5. Chapter 5

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 5_

They hadn't even finished putting up all of the outdoor Christmas decorations yesterday, let alone the ones she was informed went inside. She had asked just where all this was coming from. Did they own a warehouse that she didn't know anything about?

Then she'd been asked a question. "Did you buy garland when you got the Christmas trees? We don't use fake anything around here. …It goes up all the stairs, around all the fireplaces, and other areas." The lady asking the question shook her head.

"I warned you I didn't know anything about running an inn." Actually it was more Christmas than running an inn, but it was all the same when it came to this inn.

"Grab your checkbook, I'll find Bailey. She's around here somewhere." She left Kate and yelled for Bailey as she went.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate was soon driving back to that Boy Scout tree location. "I'm sorry. I forgot all about garland. We're going to need wreaths as well. The best we can find for the front door, one for each of the French doors leading to the dining room and sitting room, and one over the fireplace in the TV room." Bailey added to the list. "Oh, and one over your fireplace. Very important."

"Is my car big enough for this?" Kate asked and turned where Bailey told her to.

"Sorry…, maybe." Bailey turned her head to look. "You have a back seat at least." Bailey hunched her shoulders and tried to disappear in her seat.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

The trunk was full to almost overflowing with freshly made garland and all of the wreaths were in the back seat. Kate was smelling evergreen all the way back to the inn since the car was full of it and since it was now cold outside she had the heat on which recirculated it all.

"I'll find some help with this." Bailey exited the car and ran inside.

Kate opened both back doors then opened the trunk and waited.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate was now standing at the reservation desk and waiting for either or both of them to get off the phone. "How are we doing?" Kate inquired when they were finally off the phone only to hear to the phone ring a second later.

"Our first guests show up tomorrow. Sixteen rooms for that day. The next day we go up to twenty-eight rooms. We're at 78% so far for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so we're getting there." Melody sounded happy.

"Sounds like we're getting there. Still we're not even to 50% yet." Kate shook her head. "I'm going to be responsible for the worst December ever. I don't know what Abigail was thinking." She didn't know anything about running an inn.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. We were closed. Even Abigail couldn't do better," Melody argued.

Kate didn't believe it for a second. "I need to inform the kitchen of our first guests." She left them and made her way to the kitchen, arriving just in time to see one of the daily deliveries being delivered. Kate was paying for it so she was feeding the staff when she didn't need to normally. Today would be the last day for that.

Once finished there she headed for the laundry to make sure all of the rooms were going to be ready since she didn't know just which rooms were going to be used starting tomorrow.

"Thanks for servicing my room," Kate mentioned. She had noticed that each day her bed was in perfect shape, that she had fresh towels, and the mess she'd made in the bathroom was always cleaned up.

"You're the boss. That's the one room that needs to be kept clean," Kate was told.

She had never been the boss of anything before. She was the lead homicide detective in her precinct but Roy was the boss. "Thanks anyway."

Kate left there and went out front just in time to see the first parent drop off her Boy Scout. Kate sent him to whoever was putting up the brand new, just purchased garland. She still didn't know that many different names. Everyone seemed to know hers, though.

All of the Boy Scouts had shown up that were likely going to show up when this big truck arrived with all the Christmas trees.

All of their stands were already in place and soon everyone in the place, including the kitchen staff, was hanging decorations, pulling them from boxes marked for each tree.

Kate found herself in her room with Bailey who wasn't going to let her hang them all alone. She had helped her take them down so she was going to help her put them back up.

"Are you still going back to New York City?" Bailey inquired, thinking that wasn't the place for her.

"I only have one week of vacation. I don't really have a choice," Kate explained.

"And you still plan to sell this place?" Mistake number two in Bailey's eyes.

"My dad's helping me with that, but yes. It really is lovely here, Bailey, but all my training and time has gone into being a homicide detective. I've worked really hard to be where I am.

"You're going to medical school to be a nurse. Just where do you think you're going to end up when you are done? Seattle, Kansas City, Houston, maybe?" Kate seriously doubted that this little town had a hospital. Certainly not one with a trauma center like most of them in New York City.

"Here, of course. Holly has more than one clinic. I don't want to be anywhere else but here. It has everything I need," Bailey insisted.

"Boyfriend?" Her options for that were limited here.

"Do you have one? You live in New York City and yet you don't talk about anyone else. Millions of people and you're alone. You really do live in the wrong place." Bailey almost pitied her.

They were both silent and didn't say a word until they were finished.

"There. Done." Bailey stepped back to look it over. "Good as ever. …OH, lights." Bailey flipped the switch to turn on the lights. "Perfect," the young woman announced. "I'm going to go help the others now. …You really should stay, Kate. You've been smiling more since you got here, in case you haven't noticed."

Kate stood there, staring at her tree. And she touched her mouth. She was just standing there looking at a Christmas tree and smiling.

"She's right, you know. You do live in the wrong place." Kate's head snapped around at the sound of that voice and saw _him _again. He was still dressed in the very same suit only he didn't look angry. Then he vanished again before her eyes.

"Who the heck are you!?" Kate asked out loud but he didn't come back.

Someone else showed up at her door. "Is everything okay?"

"Fine. …How are we coming?" Kate queried and left her room to find out for herself.

The first two trees she saw were the ones in the dining room and sitting room. They were both different and they were both lovely. Completely different from what was in her room.

The one in the dining room was filled with gold colors while the one in the sitting room was decked with ribbons of different colors. Each had presents sitting under them already.

Going out onto the front porch she saw a tree on each end. While her tree was filled with small handmade ornaments, these two were covered with large handmade ornaments that worked perfectly with the six foot tall nutcrackers. Then she saw the huge presents next to the fountain out in the grass.

There were large piles of large candy canes lying in the road. "Where do the candy canes go?" Kate asked.

"Along the edge of the entrance road. Just as soon as we put down the electrical cords to plug them into," Jeremy replied.

"They're lighted!?" Kate tried to imagine just what that was going to look like at night.

"So are the big presents out by the fountain. Each has this tiny little light inside each one," Jeremy smiled.

"What's all this going to do to the electric bill? We don't even have guests yet." She was spending money but not making a single dime.

"And this from the woman who doesn't know anything about running an inn," Kate was teased. "Just for the record you're doing great. You're not doing anything Abigail, god rest her soul, wouldn't be doing. Maybe with a few fewer questions."

"Lunch is ready," Curt announced and everyone headed to the dining room. Even the Boy Scouts went since they were hungry and it was free food.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate went to her room to change out of her heels into some tennis shoes. She had at least brought some blue jeans and a simple top to change into as well. She had the armoire open and was just taking off her heels when there was a knock at her door that she had left open.

Turning to look, she was expecting to see one of the staff like Bailey or one of the women at the front desk. Instead she saw _him._

"I came to apologize for earlier. May I come in?" Rick asked since standing out in the hall might allow someone to see him and he was still trying to avoid that. Plus he had to have permission to enter her room. He was a gentleman, after all.

"Sure." Kate quietly reached into her bag, pulled out her cuffs, and held them behind her back.

"I want to apologize for yelling at you," Rick said. "It was not very gentlemanly of me and that just isn't me. I think I was still suffering from learning Abigail had passed away. She was a beautiful woman."

Kate had seen pictures of her aunt and she didn't think she was beautiful. Certainly not ugly but she wasn't a great beauty.

She moved to within arm's length and kept her cuffs behind her back. She reached out to touch him and found that he was solid enough. "Ghost, huh?" She knew there was no such thing as ghosts.

Rick shrugged. "Part of the curse."

"Curse?" She didn't believe in those either.

Instead of arguing he turned his back on her and got down on his knees in front of her armoire. It was her perfect opportunity to pull his arms behind his back and cuff him. Except he took her shoes out and her carry bag and worked on the armoire's floor. Then out came a wood panel. "False bottom." It was an armoire. It looked old and was beautiful but she hadn't thought about a false bottom.

Then she watched as he removed a metal box, got up, and set it on her bed. His arms were just close enough and with practiced skill she slapped her cuffs on his wrists.

"Gotcha! Ghost, my ass." If he was a real ghost, which didn't exist, she shouldn't have been able to do that or touch him at all.

"Stubborn, are we? Well, so am I. This place is owned by me. Abigail knew but didn't have a problem with it. I'm still not going to allow you or anyone else try and sell it out from under me again." He'd had enough of that. This place was his, end of story.

Then he vanished right in front of her eyes yet again. She heard the clatter of metal falling and looked down to see her cuffs, still closed, laying on the wood floor.

"Oh, if you can get that open it will answer a lot of your questions." Kate wheeled around and saw him still in the same suit as all the other times, standing just outside of her room. Then he simply vanished once more.

Kate stood there not sure just what to think. Her mind didn't have an answer for what had just happened. She looked down at her cuffs and picking them up, saw that they were indeed still locked. There were no secret doors, panels, or floors that she could find. Let alone at her door.

She looked at the metal box. She could see a set of numbers on the front. Tilting it up so she could get a better look at it told her that there was something heavy inside it. There were also four numbers she had to spin. She tried opening it and but it was locked. "Not lucky, I guess," Kate muttered to herself. Then she put it back down and went to the door anyway to have a quick look to see if she could see him. Naturally he wasn't there so she closed and locked the door.

Kate chose to change clothes first then sat on the bed with her legs crossed and pulled the box closer until it was in her lap. She could feel the weight of it so something was definitely inside it.

"Four numbers." She could spin them until next year and might not get it right. "What would Abigail use?" Kate began spinning starting with the address. Abigail's birthday. Her mother's birthday. Then her own birthday. Much to her surprise it opened! It was the month and day.

Opening it she found a large binder. She carefully took it out, put it in her lap, and pushed the box away. It was thick and looked like it had a lot of pages in it.

Turning to the first page she got her next shock after having him just disappear on her again. It was a picture of a baby and under it was her birthday. 11-17-1979. She hadn't seen a baby picture of herself in a really, really long time. "What's she doing with a picture of me as a baby?"

Kate flipped the page and saw two more pictures of her. She was still just a baby, but she was bigger. Turning the page showed her two more pictures and now she was older and was even standing. She was sure that was her mother holding her hands, helping her to stand.

On the next page were two more pictures. She was getting older. Another page and she was older still. Several pages later after seeing her on her first bike with training wheels, she was finally in high school. She hadn't gone to the prom. She had done something else instead. She had been deep in her Rebel Becks phase and had gone and done what she thought was stupid now.

A couple of more pages and she was clearly at Stanford. "How in the world did she get a picture of me at Stanford?" No one had pictures of her at Stanford, not even her.

Two pages later she was standing there in her blues. She was a police officer, complete with her hat on her head. She ran a finger over that picture. She remembered that day. She was young, so very green, and had felt so lost and so far in over her head.

The next page was a picture of her mother's grave stone. She even remembered those flowers. They were fresh and new and she hadn't left them. Her dad almost never went. They were always just there. There was only one person that could have left them and taken a picture. "Abigail." Kate reverently touched the picture.

On the following page she was wearing normal clothes, but she was wearing her weapon with her badge on her belt. She was a homicide detective. "At least you don't have pictures of me when I was in Vice." God she didn't need to see what she looked like then. Once was enough.

It looked like she had maybe two pages left to go. Turning the page she saw a picture of Abigail and she was old. It was one she'd seen before. But she also found an envelope. Kate removed the envelope and pushed the binder out in front of her. On the front in cursive writing that looked really nice was her name. _**Katie **_

Opening it she found more than one page so she started at the top.

_My dear__ Katie,_

_If you're reading this it means I'm gone and you've met Rick. I left you the inn because you really need it. However, before I explain I'm going to talk about Rick._

_Rick really does own this inn and has for a very long time. He died on these grounds long ago and is trapped here. He has no idea just when he died, who killed him, or where his __actual__ body is. His soul is trapped here. He can't talk or touch anyone or anything except in December. I'm betting he's proven it to you even if you don't believe in ghosts. Not sure I did either until I met Rick._

_He's a good man. A little stubborn and opinionated maybe, but a good man. A true old school gentleman with a touch of a dry humor. The closer it gets to Christmas the more solid he becomes. Once December's over no one, not even me, will see him again until next December._

_Rick is the reason why this inn is in the shape it's presently i__n__. I don't know how and he won't say, but he has money. I'm thinking a lot of money. He's provided the money I needed to make improvements over the years. Several millions worth, actually. At first the inn didn't do well. It was his money that kept it open. I greatly fear he got it illegally, but he refuses to explain._

_He has the original deed for this property with his signature. He showed it to me once. I believe, but he won't say, that he moves it to a new hiding place every year. The inn does belong to him but I didn't care._

_Why you? If you didn't cheat and go to the end th__e__n you saw all the pictures of you. I c__ould__n't have children so Johanna's only child became __the__ child I was never going to have. Johanna and I never did see eye to eye on a lot of things. __So__ I simply watched from the shadows._

_Then Johanna died and Jim became an alcoholic. Did you ever wonder where the money came from for Jim to finally enter a real rehab clinic and get better? I begged Rick for the money so you can thank him next time you see him._

_I watched you leave college and go to the Police Academy. Along the way you hardened your heart and was no longer the little Katie Beckett I remembered. I never saw you smile or laugh or do anything fun any__more__. You always looked so serious._

_Now comes the hard part for you. Trust me, putting your job ahead of your heart is a mistake. Risking our hearts is why we're alive. The last thing you want is to look back on your life and wonder if only._

_You can always heal a broken heart, Katie. What you can't get back is the time you have wasted thinking incorrectly that your heart can't take it. Your heart, like everyone else's, can heal from anything. The dog or cat you have just fallen in love with will die in a few years. Yet you go right out and get another one so you can feel that love again._

_There's a real and distinct difference between living and existing. Tell me and tell yourself the truth and not what you want to be the truth, but the real truth, which you are doing, __Katie__?_

_You've locked your heart away in the belief that you are protecting it. You haven't __l__ocked your heart away from pain. You've imprisoned yourself in the mistaken belief that it will protect you._

_Tell yourself truthfully just how many friends you presently have. Then ask yourself how many you could have if you kept the inn. __After that__ answer truthfully how often you have smiled since you've been here._

_This inn is Magical if you'll just give it a chance. You live your life alone in your little apartment in the big city. Holly may be tiny in comparison but everyone in this city could be a friend. Ask Sheriff __Mike Boughton just how much violence Holly has each year. Then ask him how many speeding tickets he writes. __A__sk if they're locals or guests._

_The inn is now yours. I won't tell you how to live your life. You would probably do the exact opposite just to prove to me and yourself that you are right. This inn could change your life if you let it._

_Instead I__ will ask __two__ thing__s__ of you. Just __two__. Find out who killed Rick and __find out__ where his body's buried. I've tried and tried but I've gotten nowhere and Rick himself knows next to nothing. He's trapped here and will be trapped here long after you and whoever follows you are long gone unless someone does. No one deserves that kind of pain. He's lost, trapped, and in pain._

_Rick is an amazing man and I've learned to love him deeply. If only I had met him before he was killed and__ was __several years younger I would have married him in a heartbeat._

_Please, Katie, set Rick free. That's all I ask. What happens after that is out of our hands. Maybe he'll get his life back and maybe he'll just move on. Anything's better than how he lives now. And if you happen to stay and learn to live and love again that would make me, Johanna__, __and Jim very happy._

_Yours forever,_

_Aunt Abigail McKenzie._

_P.S. If I see Johanna I'll say hi for you, if she'll let me talk to her._

Kate saw a spot form and just then realized that she'd been crying.


	6. Chapter 6

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 6_

Kate put the letter down and wiped her eyes to clear the tears. The letter had struck her in multiple locations. She'd come there not believing in ghosts and yet what she had seen seen there was something she couldn't just explain away.

Dead and trapped in one location and was blessed or cursed to only get to touch anything for a few weeks each year. Year after year. It was any wonder he hadn't gone mad.

The other part of her it had struck was about just how many friends she had. She could count the number of them on one hand. Kevin, Javi, and Lanie were technically the only people she could truly call friends. Or maybe it was worse than that. The only time she spent time with Kevin and Javi away from the precinct was when they met at a bar for drinks. Lanie was truly the only one she saw regularly outside of the precinct.

Though as she thought about it, it was Lanie that usually started anything. That was because Lanie was always trying to insert herself into her personal life. Her heart needed to be guarded. Yet in one little letter Abigail had managed to reach her heart. Maybe it wasn't as well protected as she thought.

How many friends could she have if she stayed here? She hadn't even really tried and she could already count Bailey as one solid friend. She had even talked to her about her going to nursing school. If she even tried a little she could add the cook who had told her stories about this place and at least two others. Thanks to Bailey she could count at least one other possibility.

It was just to call them friends meant letting them into her life. Something she had spent all this time since her mother had died trying to keep people out.

Then there was a knock on her door. "Everyone's eating. Did you want something?" one of the wait staff asked. One more thing to show her that she could have another friend. These people knew she was going to sell this place and be gone in a few days and yet one or more were looking out for her.

Kate wipe the new tears. "I…" Kate cleared her throat so it didn't sound like she had been crying. "I'll be right there." She folded the letter, put it back in the envelope, then back into the binder that in turn went back into the box. Then she spun the combination and put it back in the armoire and even set her heels on top of it.

A quick wash at the sink to clear her face, changing clothes, and she was out and walking to the kitchen. Once in the kitchen she found everyone gone and lunch was still sitting there waiting for her.

She paused while she was dishing it out. She knew for a fact that back at the precinct she wouldn't be eating this well and if there was food in the breakroom it would be all gone in minutes. Yet here there was enough for a few more people and nothing was totally gone.

Walking into the dining room she found a lone empty chair waiting for her; it just happened to be next to Bailey and one of the women that she hadn't tried to remember the name of. That woman had been manning the front desk trying to get people to renew their reservation.

"You changed clothes," Bailey commented.

"All I'm doing is putting up decorations. I don't need heels to do that," Kate responded defensively.

Instead of questioning her again Bailey leaned in closer and whispered, "Can I have your long legs if you don't want them?"

Kate choked on her food since she had just taken a bite. "I'll put you in my will," Kate said dryly and Bailey burst out laughing.

Yeah, Kate could definitely count Bailey as a friend and this was only her fourth day here and it was only half over.

However, the woman sitting on the other side of her had her own question. "Is everything okay? You washed off what little makeup you were wearing. Get a bad phone call or something?" She questioned Kate softly, however, it wasn't soft enough as now everyone at her table was looking at her.

Kate was all set to say she was fine. That was what she always said even when she wasn't. Not really. Then before she could think up a lie out came, "I found a letter Abigail left for me."

"We all miss her. She was the best. But we've got you," she said and touched her arm.

"You have all of us," one of the women across from her added. All of them nodded much to Kate's surprise.

"I told you should stay," Bailey said and just smiled at her. In her peripheral vision Kate saw a lot of nodding heads.

Kate shrugged. "I can't. I only have one week of vacation." She had a job to go back to.

"And what does that job have that we don't?" someone queried.

"Trash in the street," one said and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"The sound of sirens everywhere," another offered.

"One of the biggest blackouts in history," someone else mentioned.

"Terrorists crashing into our buildings." That person shuddered.

"Don't forget that bomb in the underground parking garage," said another, shaking his head.

"Air pollution, water pollution, lead paint, and don't get me started on sleazy landlords," a big man in work clothes said with a frown.

"What does it cost to live in New York City and how big is that closet you live in?" another asked from a different table.

"But you get all the Pace® Picante sauce you want," one of the bellmen commented. Kate snorted out a laugh while listening to others laugh outright.

"Is your job there so much better than your job here?" someone from one of the other tables asked.

"You're asking me to quit my job. A job I've worked hard to get. You wouldn't believe the jobs I did while working Vice," Kate countered, not even thinking of her mother's case at the moment.

"No, Kate, we're not. We're asking you to live here and not live there. Changing jobs to where you have friends is up to you," someone from a different table pointed out.

"She has three more days to come to her senses. We have work to do, ladies and gentlemen. We have guests coming tomorrow so let's get to it." Someone whose name Kate didn't know got up and Kate watched as most everyone followed since they were done eating.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"Give it a chance, Kate. You're not doing nearly as bad as you fear you are." The lady sitting next to her touched her arm as she got up and left the dining room. Kate was sitting alone save for Bailey.

"I told you so," Bailey said as she got up and left. She left Kate sitting there in complete shock. Her mother had always used that line against her more times than she could count.

Kate finally was all alone in the dining room when she bothered to look around. Then in came two kids to clean up the mess. "Thanks, guys," Kate murmured and retreated to her room instead of helping.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate was sitting cross-legged on her bed, staring at her cell phone. She had already brought up the number for her dad and just needed to press send to talk to him. She had been so out of it that she'd left her door open.

She was still zoned out and staring at her phone when she heard a knock at her door. She laid her phone down and looked up. She almost expected to see her ghost. Instead it was the head chef, Curt. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to know if we were keeping the same menu," Curt inquired. "If you want to add something we need to change the menus and maybe put up a sign showing the new items until we get new ones."

"No, not unless there's something you want to try. We could call it a daily special or something. Be as creative as you want. Just let me taste test it first. Or maybe let us taste test it first." Kate was learning that she wasn't all alone in this.

"Thanks, I'll let you know." Curt was pleased and left her sitting on her bed.

Kate was still sitting there and hadn't yet opened her phone to call her dad. Then another knock at her door had her looking. She was betting it was someone else with a question. Instead it was _HIM!_ Kate practically jumped off her bed. "Get in here!" She grabbed hold of his open coat and pulled. Then she closed and locked her door after taking a peek down the hallway each way.

"I take it what I left you helped?" Rick questioned her.

"You're a ghost?" Kate reached out to touch him again but he still felt pretty solid to her.

"I was rather surprised myself, believe me." Rick rolled his eyes. Ghosts were just stories to scare kids and keep them either at home or away from some location. Now here he was one.

"You certainly feel pretty solid." Then Kate remembered what her letter said. He was only solid during December.

"Try again," Rick offered and now suddenly Kate could almost see through him. This time her hand went through him. That had her waving her hand through him like he didn't exist then she used both hands. "You don't feel any of this?" Suddenly he was more solid and her hand hit him. "Sorry."

"No, it's part of the curse." Rick was convinced that if ghosts did exist then so did curses. He just wasn't yet ready to say it was a witch that had done it yet. But he wouldn't rule it out.

"Yeah, Abigail said you were trapped here," Kate admitted.

"Said?" Rick queried since she was dead. If she was a ghost around here surely he would have noticed by now.

"She left me a letter in that box. Along with a few other things." Kate wasn't going to tell him she had pictures of her since she was a baby. Next thing she knew he would want to see them and that wasn't going to happen.

"Yes, trapped. I can't even get a hair past the official boundary of this place. I can go outside if I want but I can't get far. Trapped and cursed. Can't touch or talk to anyone except every December. Abigail was the only person I really talked to since she took over the property.

"She was a beautiful woman. Oh, she wouldn't win any of those beauty pageants I saw on TV, but in here," Rick tapped his chest where his heart was located, or was located, "she was beautiful. Her heart was made of solid gold." Kate was sure she saw the start of tears again.

Rick sniffled and fought them back. "How's your father?" Rick inquired.

"He's fine. He hasn't had a drink in years. I read that I have you to thank for the money." Kate knew she hadn't paid for it and her dad had never said where the money for that place had come from. She knew now, though.

Rick shrugged. "By the time she asked I couldn't deny her anything," he said. "I should let you be." He was all set to just fade away.

"STOP!" Kate yelled at him. "I mean, you can stay. …Please." She had questions and only he could answer them.

Kate got on the bed, leaned against the headboard, and sat cross-legged again. "Sit." She heard what she had said and it almost sounded like she was telling a dog to sit. "Please."

He sat on the far end of the bed and looked at her. Kate had to admit that beyond him being well dressed he was easy on the eyes. Instead of asking the big question she asked him an easy one.

"Why always the same suit? You don't own another one?" Kate then thought about it. He was dead so of course he didn't have something else to wear. "Never mind, that was stupid."

Rick stated the obvious. "It's all I have to wear." It was what he was wearing when he died and was likely buried in.

"Do you even take showers? You can use mine." Kate gestured to her bathroom. "The shower's big, lots of space, and lots of hot water." She hadn't run out of hot water yet even if she didn't yet know how they made hot water. Something she was going to have to ask about.

Rick smiled since Kate, unlike Abigail, was young and lovely. "Maybe later." Rick smiled again at her. "The answer is no I don't know who killed me. Yes, I know I was killed. I was alive one minute and dead and a ghost the next."

He got to the point. "I didn't see anyone attack me. I didn't see my own body and I have no idea where it is. And no, I have never seen another ghost since I've been here. It's just me."

"She asked you all these questions already, hasn't she?" Kate meant Abigail.

"Several times, in fact. She so wanted to help but never found anything. Nothing to find. Everyone's dead and my body, wherever it is, is likely all bone by now." Rick shrugged again. "Dead, trapped, and cursed."

"But not alone," Kate said gently.

"Worse than alone. I sit in the TV room and watch TV when they're on. People come in and literally sit on me and never see me. The room's filled with people and I'm more than alone." Rick was long since done with being dead.

"Then a December comes around and all there was was Abigail. She didn't treat me like a ghost or that I was trapped and alone. What I saw on TV only confirmed that she was the only one I should talk to. Now there's just you, but you're leaving." He was going to be even more alone next December.

Rick began to get up and leave. Granted he could just fade away now but he didn't.

"Wait!" Kate was on her hands and knees now and had hold of his arm. However, now their heads were a lot closer. Meaning their lips were a lot closer. "Let me help. I'm a homicide detective. It's my job to find killers. I have access to resources Abigail didn't. Let me try. I just need some information to start with." Kate couldn't help but look at those lips. He was handsome, tall, and hurting and that had her wanting to kiss them.

Rick sat back down. "What do you want to know?" She would fail as well but if she wanted to waste her time it was her time to waste.

"I need pen and paper." She needed to take notes. She dug through her bag until she found something she could use. It was a pen and an old envelope but it was empty on one side.

This time she sat right in front of him on her knees this time. "Full name?"

"Richard Alexander Rodgers."

"Birthday, place of birth, and age when you died, not how old you are now." Kate needed to be clear.

"April 1, 1829 in Albany, New York. I was 34 when I was killed. At the time this place was a school for young girls. It was in disrepair by then and I bought it for $21,000. Then the Civil War and the Great Depression happened. After that the place was empty for a time. Later it became a school for nurses. Followed by a school for actors before it changed again and again. Finally it was an inn then Abigail came along." Rick knew he had been trapped there for a long time.

"A school for young girls. Was there a special one? One that you like most? Dated or I think it was called courting back then?" Kate asked him. "Rick, I'm not being critical. I've had boyfriends and I'm not a virgin any longer. Haven't been for longer than my parents even think. I can't help you if you don't talk to me." Kate looked him in the eye and pleaded with him. She didn't care if he'd had sex with her. In fact that might be helpful if they had.

Rick sighed. "Yes, her name was Kyra Blaine. Her family was one of the upper crust families at the time. Way out of my league but that didn't stop me. Her parents were Gregg and Virginia Blaine. Not sure if I ever learned her maiden name. It might have been Jackson but don't quote me," he explained.

"When was the last time you saw her?" Kate was still writing and was running out of envelope.

"The day before her parents showed up and dressed me down. Her father was sure I was never going to be able to support her. Her mother thought I was a classless low life, a servant in their house, basically." Rick could still remember that day. Neither of them had minced words about what they thought of him.

"They took her out of the school and I never saw her again," Rick said blearily and sighed. "I don't see where any of this is helping. This was 148 years ago. More or less." He didn't see how she was going to find anything. Too much time had passed. He was really feeling old now. Almost 200 years old, to be precise.

"It helps. What are the names of your mother and father?" Kate asked him.

Rick rolled his eyes. None of this was going to help. Then suddenly she had his head in her hands and lightly kissed him. It only lasted a second. It was just a tiny little touch of her lips to his but she had his attention again and he was back to being engaged in this conversation.

"Name? Mother, Father." He needed to concentrate and if kissing him got him to concentrate there wasn't a down side. Besides she was suddenly thinking of wanting to kiss him again. Only this time really kissing him. It had been a while for her and untold years for him, she was betting.

"Martha Rodgers. I never knew my father. Mother never talked about him. She married a couple of times but they always ended in divorce shortly after. …I don't even know when my own mother died or from what. Abigail never found her." Rick slumped again. He was about done.

"It's enough for now. Why don't you go take a shower? You deserve it. It's relaxing and you'll feel better." Kate watched him get off the bed but he didn't look overly enthusiastic about taking a shower. "One last thing. Was Kyra pregnant when she was taken by her parents?"

"A gentleman never has sex with a woman without her full consent," Rick informed her with ice in his voice and closed the bathroom door behind him.

"Oops, sounds like I hit a nerve. **SORRY!**" Kate yelled and hoped he heard her. She hadn't meant anything by it. Besides if she had had a baby it was another lead.

This time she picked up her cell phone and selected a different number. "Hey, Beckett! How's vacation?" Espo was happy to hear from her.

"I need a favor, Javi. I need you to look up everything you can, anywhere you can find it about Richard Alexander Rodgers. Born in Albany, New York, April 1, 1829." Kate had more to ask of him.

"1829? I don't think they have anything scanned for that year." Espo knew this was going to be a challenge.

"I also need what you can find on Martha Rodgers, his mother. Also Gregg and Virginia Blaire and their daughter, Kyra. Circa 1863 in Holly, Connecticut or whatever this town was named before they changed it. This place was a school for young girls at the time. Kyra was a student while her parents were probably in New York City." Rick had said upper crust and to her that meant New York City.

"You got a time machine you're not telling me about?" Espo asked with a little humor to his voice though he was also serious.

"Just do what you can, Javi. Get Kevin to help you. I'll be back in a few days. This is personal so I owe you," Kate promised.

"You can tell me what this is about over drinks and we'll call it even," Espo told her.

"Thanks, Javi." Kate ended the call. Now she scrolled to a different number.

"Katie. I haven't really found anything for you yet," Jim said. "I have a lead for a company based in Japan but they haven't called me back." It was all he had so far.

"You can stop, Dad. I'm keeping the inn," Kate said; she had made her choice.

"REALLY!? That's great! …I mean I'm happy for you." Jim had opened his big mouth and hoped his daughter wouldn't press him on it.

"We'll talk about this later. Grab a pen and paper, I'll wait." Kate adjusted her legs since they were going asleep on her like she was still sitting.

"Ready," Jim said. Kate told him everything she'd told Javi.

"A lot of this is likely on microfilm or old papers if there are any," he warned her since what she was asking for probably wasn't on the Internet waiting for someone like him to find it.

"I know, Dad. Just do what you can, please," Kate asked him.

"I'll get on it tomorrow. Just don't expect much or anytime soon if anything at all," Jim warned her again. "What made you change your mind? Does this mean you're quitting your job and moving there?" Jim certainly hoped so. It meant he could stop worrying that his daughter was going to get herself killed. Her job was dangerous. Losing his wife had damn near killed him.

"No and no. I haven't really figured this out yet. I'm just not selling it. I…I found something." She wasn't ready to tell her dad about the letter her aunt had left her along with all those pictures. Some of which no one, not even herself, had or even knew existed.

"Well I'm happy for you. You'll work it out. You usually do. I'll tackle this in the morning," Jim assured her.

"Thanks, Dad. …Love you." Kate really meant it this time. They weren't just words.

"I love you too, sweetheart." Jim ended the call and looked at his list. "Talk about old." At least it wasn't the time of the dinosaurs.


	7. Chapter 7

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 7_

Kate had made a decision but she still needed to figure out how to make this work. She had a job and wasn't willing to just up and quit so she could work here full time. Nor sell her apartment and live here in her one little room. Well maybe not that little, really. This bedroom was bigger than her living room at home. Her bathroom here was bigger than her bedroom at home. Here just lacked having a kitchen since she didn't really need one.

What she needed now was a computer but she hadn't brought one with her. The only ones she knew anything about was the one at the front desk and the one in what technically was her tiny office located behind the front desk where she was supposed to do all the bookkeeping.

She didn't own a car and wasn't interested in buying one. So did she rent one every time she wanted to come here?

Kate got off the bed, put her ear against the bathroom door, and heard the water running. It brought a smile to her face. Only since she was up she stayed that way and began to pace her bedroom. Then she had an idea.

She left her bedroom and went to the front desk. "I need a favor. Is there a train between New York City and New London? Maybe a bus between the two? Look it up and let me know, please." Kate left the two of them.

"May I ask why?" one of them asked.

"Thank you," Kate called over her shoulder and went back to her room where she closed and locked the door. She immediately went over to the bathroom door and put her ear against the door. She didn't hear the water running anymore.

She went back to pacing. Why was she acting like this? You'd think she was a teenager with a crush on someone. She was way past thinking like this. She was an adult. Kate strode to the bathroom door and listened. Then she knocked and opened the door since she still didn't hear the water running.

He was naked and standing in front of the full length mirror that was in the room. "Oops, sorry." Kate spun around so her back was to him. Now her mind had a vision of his bare ass that she wasn't going to forget for a while. A very long while. She grinned; he had a really nice ass.

"Wait a minute!" There was something she _didn't_ see. She turned back around and he was still standing there. Her concentration was now off of his fine naked ass and on the mirror itself. Kate walked up to it and stood right behind him but just a little to one side. All she saw in the mirror was herself standing here. She didn't believe what she was seeing.

"Told you. Ghost, trapped, cursed," Rick said. What Kate couldn't see because she couldn't see them were the tears forming in his eyes and leaking out one at a time.

"No!" Kate wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face into his back. "I'm going to fix this. I have to fix this. You're going to let me fix this." When he didn't answer her she spun him around and looked at his face. Now she saw the tears. He almost looked as bad as he did when he'd learned that Abigail was dead.

Her memory of that look was still firmly in her memory. The pain he must have been feeling. Her heart was feeling this look almost as much. How he had reached it so damn fast escaped her, but right now she didn't care.

"You're going to let me fix this," she said fiercely. "You're going to answer every question I have. You're not giving up on me. …Got it?" Kate raised her hands to his face and used her thumbs to wipe the tears away. She couldn't resist doing it so she didn't try. This time instead of just touching her lips to his she kissed him and kept kissing him until he finally responded and returned her kiss.

Kate pulled back and looked at him. It was one of the best kisses she'd ever experienced. This time she kissed him hard and forced her tongue into his mouth so she could taste him. Except…he didn't have any taste. Shocked, Kate took a step back. It was like she was kissing nothing except that she could feel it. He really was still a ghost. Then she remembered something Abigail had said in her letter: he got more solid the closer they got to Christmas.

"Get dressed, there's something I have to do." Kate turned to leave then turned back to face him. "Don't you dare try and stay away from me. You may be a ghost but I'll find a way to make you pay. I am _going_ to fix this." She kissed him again and walked out of the bathroom and her bedroom.

She told the first person she saw, "Main conference room, spread the word." Kate kept walking and went into the kitchen. "Main Conference room, spread the word." Kate found someone in the dining room and said the same thing. Then to the front desk and told them. Then she went out onto the front porch and told them.

Kate was standing behind the podium and waiting for any stragglers to join them.

"I've made a decision. I'm not selling the inn, I'm keeping it." Cheers rang out and there was lots of clapping. It was another moment that reached her heart. A heart that had been hidden away for so long she wasn't used to feeling like this.

Kate waved her hands to get them to stop. "I have no idea how I'm going to manage it. Abigail only left enough money for December and this December is almost officially a disaster. Our first guests, as few as they are, don't arrive until tomorrow. I'm not sure I personally have enough money to make up the difference but I'll think of something.

"No, I'm not quitting my job in New York City. I need it for something I have to do. It's my best shot at solving a problem. Having said that I'm not sure just how often I'll be here. My days off tend to be random and based on how busy we are. Add to that I don't own a car so I need to figure out how to get here. Train or bus, maybe, to New London. From there I don't know. I'll think of something. I only needed a car a couple of times so far but I'll solve that question later." Kate paused since she didn't know what else to tell them.

"We'll come get you. We'll take turns," someone offered and raised her hand. Almost instantly half the room raised their hands. Once again Kate's heart didn't know what to think of or about it.

Her heart, however, caused tears to run down her face. Kate wiped the tears away. "Thank you. Thank you so much. I still have to figure out how to get there and how to tell you when." She soon found herself being surrounded.

"We'll figure it out. You just call and tell us when you're arriving and someone will be there waiting for you. We've told you once and we're telling you again, we're all friends here. This is part of living in a small town.

"Live here long enough and you'll know everyone knows everything about everyone. It might seem invasive if you want privacy but it can have its advantages."

"We'll find out how to get you here," one of the women at the front desk that she had just asked about trains or a bus assured her. "You leave that to us."

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Everyone had gone back to what they'd been doing and Kate went back to her room to find Rick. A quick search of her room and bathroom showed that he was missing or at least she couldn't see him.

Yelling at him wasn't going to get her anywhere. He was a ghost and could be any place at the moment. She couldn't think of anything to do about it until he decided to show up again. So Kate went to find out what was left to be worked on.

There were at least a few more people that she had yet to meet so she asked about them. "Probably in the boiler room or maintenance room," Kate was told and then told how to get there.

Finally Kate met and got to talk to the people who did all the maintenance for the inn. If a guest complained about their TV, they went to fix it. If they had a problem with a shower valve, they fixed it. If anything went wrong anywhere on the property, they fixed it.

There were four of them. Two men about her dad's age. One that was likely a little older than she was and a female that was clearly a kid.

She was also shown the old storage tank that held their hot water. There was an ancient cast iron boiler that when it was used was coal fired. It was dead but it was so big and heavy it cost too much to get rid of so it was just sitting there, taking up space.

Now they had these two boilers that were fed by a large tank outside that was partly buried in the ground that was filled with oil. Home heating oil. Natural gas, she had learned, was the preferred fuel, however, their little town and actually a lot of Connecticut didn't have natural gas lines. Almost everyone used home heating oil.

She also learned that their boilers were cantankerous and prone to having a mind of their own.

The piping was mostly all new save for parts of it here. The electrical system was all new and they didn't have many issues with it any longer. Just the hot water system had them concerned. If they lost one of their two boilers they were going to be down to generating about half the normal amount of hot water. So if one went down she needed to be ready for complaints.

Kate knew she didn't have the money to replace them or do anything here. She walked away, worried. The inn looked amazing and parts of it were perfect. But it was looking like she had at least one problem that still needed to be dealt with.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate watched as the last of her volunteer Boy Scouts left with his parents. All of their Christmas decorations were up and yes, they had tested all of the lights but they would know better once it got dark then turned on the lights.

Kate stopped at the front desk and was pleased to find out that the reservations were increasing. Slowly but they were increasing.

The kitchen was ready and they would be getting more deliveries tomorrow morning. Thankfully they only filled what they needed and charged them for that. They didn't get the same amount each and every time even if they didn't need it. So Kate was grateful for that.

Moving on to the housekeeping staff she found all of the washers and dryers sitting empty. All of the guest rooms were clean and had fresh linens and towels.

"TRASH!" Kate went the front desk again. "The water, fuel oil, and such are all operational and deliveries are coming. Who picks up the trash?" Kate asked and saw blank looks. "That's great. I'll bet the dumpster out back is already full. I'll find out who and get them out here or at least get them to start coming out here." Kate went around them and stepped into what was her office that she'd barely spent any time in since she had gotten here.

Kate searched for an old bill so she could call them and find out when they could start showing up and what the cost was. "I don't know how big it is. Isn't it your dumpster? Don't you know how big your own dumpster is?" Kate couldn't believe how dense the lady on the other end was. The cost was based on the size of the dumpster. Then she was put on hold. Instead of listening to elevator music she got to listen to a black hole.

What she wanted to do was hang up on her and call her back or if she was local, which she was starting to doubt, go down there and shoot her.

"Just how big is that? In actual dimensions using feet, not in cubic capacity or whatever that was. No, I don't want to listen to the black hole again." But it was too late she was gone again.

Kate searched for more bills from these people to see if she could find how big her dumpster was. "Come on, can't you people tell me one tiny little thing." Kate had several spread out all over what was her desk.

"Gotcha!" She had the capacity of their dumpster. Now she just needed for this stupid lady to come back on.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate was back out to the front desk. "The trash people are idiots!" Kate fumed. "They'll be out in two days to empty our dumpster and then weekly after that. And I need a drink. I'll be in the kitchen getting plastered if anyone wants me." Kate spun on her heel and headed to the kitchen to find something. …Anything to kill the pain.

Kate left them behind her smiling. They thought that Kate keeping the inn and eventually moving out here was a good thing. "What happens when she gets married and has kids?" Judith asked.

Adam looked at her blankly. "Buy a house, I suppose."

"And move out? We need a plan. Where's Charlotte?" She was betting she could get things started. "Bailey, Adam, go find Charlotte. If Kate gets married and has kids she'll move out." And that just wasn't acceptable. Okay, none of them lived here but they didn't own this place. The owner was suppose to live here.

"We'll find her." Kate moving out wasn't acceptable to them, either.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Now the three of them were outside her door. "Her bathroom's that way." Bailey motioned with her left hand. "Her fireplace is just the other side of this wall. So I guess that leaves what's this way." Bailey motioned using her right arm. "And what's opposite the fireplace."

"Okay, Bailey, you take what's on the bathroom side, Adam, you take that way and I'll take opposite the fireplace. Then we meet back at the front desk. Anyone know an architect?" Charlotte saw shaking heads. "We can ask around. Let's move, people."

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

They were all standing at the front desk, drawing what they knew and had found. At least until the phone rang and then when the computer alerted one of them to a reservation request.

Charlotte studied their drawing. "Her room, bathroom, and fireplace. The fireplace can't move but everything else can."

Bailey raised her eyebrows. "This is a janitor's closet."

"We can move it somewhere else," Charlotte assured her. "Mine was mostly outside so maybe lots of space."

"This was storage," Adam remarked. "Our Christmas stuff is in the attic, our Halloween stuff, what little we have is in this room."

"So we move it to the attic," Judith piped up. "What else was over there? Is that where part of the TV room is located? Can we steal a little from there, maybe?"

Adam was in over his head. "We need an architect."

"Yeah. …Spread out. Ask everyone if they know an architect. Kate stays here and we need a plan to help her with that," Charlotte told the other three. "You two see anyone ask them to ask, too." Charlotte left to find someone, anyone.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate was sitting on her bed waiting for something or really someone, a certain someone special to show up. However, waiting wasn't her style. If she wanted something or wanted to do something she didn't want to have to wait for it. And she wasn't even remotely drunk. It was actually a little too early even for her.

She was also looking at her phone willing for it to ring. Yes, her dad wasn't going to start until tomorrow but maybe Javi or Kevin had found something already. It was only 148 years ago. Kate fell backward onto her bed. "148 years." Maybe she was asking too much.

Kate heard a knock and turned to look. "Get in here!" She jumped up and closed the door and locked it behind him after Rick was in far enough to close it.

"You left. Don't ever do that again. Are you listening to me?" Kate poked Rick in the chest.

"I thought we were done." It wasn't like he had anywhere else to go. He was trapped here. Though technically not just this room. If that was the case he would have gone mad and most likely this inn would be closed because of him.

"We're not done until I figure out who killed you. You're my best source for information to do just that. Everyone else is dead and has been for a long time. So for this to work I need to know what you know." Kate didn't want to be angry at him but she was invested into who had killed him.

Rick pointed out the obvious. "I happen to be dead, too, you know."

Kate poked him again. "Doesn't feel like it to me," she argued.

A smile played on his lips. "You want me to sleep in here, too? Is your bed big enough for the two of us?" Rick teased her and kept smiling at her.

Kate ignored what he was teasing her about. "Do you even sleep?"

"Technically, no. I spend my time moving around anywhere I can. I'm awake all the time, every day. …Dead, trapped, cursed," Rick reminded her.

And just like that Kate wasn't angry at him any longer. She could at least get some sleep and start again the next day. She could also just up and go somewhere else. He couldn't do anything but what he had been doing for longer than she could fathom. How he managed to keep his sanity was beyond her.

"Have you tried sleeping?" Kate asked him.

"Not for a very long time. It didn't work so I gave up trying," Rick admitted and shrugged his shoulders. What was he supposed to do if he didn't sleep?

"Well, you're trying again so when it gets late tonight I expect to find you here," Kate informed him.

Rick was sure it wasn't going to work but he was willing to prove it to her.

"I still have work to do. Then eat dinner and look at the lights to make sure they all work. Pray it doesn't rain tonight." If some of them didn't work fixing it would have to be delayed until tomorrow night if it rained.

"Go where you want until tonight but I expect to find you in this room when I get back here." She was going to ask him a lot more questions. She needed to know a lot of things. Where did he live? What did he do for a living? What people did he know? Did he have any enemies? Was he into drugs? She had a lot of questions and each answer was going to help her find out who killed him.

Kate left her room and walked a few feet down the hall. Then she turned around and went back to her room. She tried to hide her smile; he was still standing there. She needed to give him encouragement to do what she wanted him to do. So she took his head in her hands and kissed him.

It was just like their first kiss. It was electric and memorable. "Be here tonight." Maybe a little pillow talk would loosen his tongue.


	8. Chapter 8

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 8_

Kate and everyone else ate the same thing for dinner. It was what Curt had made for them and no one complained. It wasn't Chinese and Kate really missed it so going home and getting take-out was something to look forward to. She made a mental note to ask him later if he knew how to make any Chinese dishes.

Eventually everyone was outside while there were two people somewhere ready to turn on all the lights. Kate was with most of them and was way out on the street so they could take it all in. Then suddenly the lights came on in sections. All but one. "Looks like we have a problem," Kate sighed after they all waited a few minutes to see if they just hadn't reached that switch yet.

One of the women ran into the inn to find out what went wrong. It took them close to fifteen minutes but finally all of the sections were lit.

Kate still might not be a big fan of Christmas, but she liked the look of it. "Spread out. Let's see if we can find any individual lights that are out. Find one and call it out." Kate picked an end and started looking herself.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

It took them almost two hours to find all the dead bulbs then find replacements that all worked until they had all the lights all lit up. It was 11:00 pm by the time everyone but Kate was able to go home for the day. All of them would be back early in the morning in time to greet their guests.

Kate had been told that all of the doors were locked and the last one out would lock the back door for her. She was effectively the night security even if she was going to be asleep.

Adam handed Kate a sheet of paper. "This is yours."

"What's this?" Kate glanced at him then the paper.

"You said you didn't have a car and needed to get back here then back home. So we looked up Amtrak trains for you. They have a lot of them all day long but these are just a few that might work for you."

"Thanks, guys." She actually had very few guys as part of her staff she had found out.

"You really should just move. Save you a lot of money," Melody mentioned.

_Amtrak - average is 2 hours 41 minutes_

_New York City Penn Station to New London_

_2:40 am is $50_

_6:55 am is $55_

_8:30 am is $72_

_11:00 am is $72_

_12:30 pm is $56_

_New London to NYC Penn Station_

_8:08 am is $50_

_10:15 am is $56_

_11:05 am is $50_

_1:18 pm is $50_

Kate was touched that they would do this for her. "Not until I finish something first. I just don't know when that will be. But thanks."

"See you tomorrow." They left her at the front desk and headed for the back door.

Kate walked through the inn anyway just to make sure and after she was sure everyone was gone she made sure the back door was locked.

Walking back to her room she could tell that all of the Christmas lights were on. Going into her room she was a little surprised that the lights on her tree were on. She also saw Rick dressed in his suit and lying on her bed. "Did you do this?" Kate pointed at her tree.

"You turned on all the others so I turned yours on," Rick said and then sat up so he could see her better.

Kate wasn't sure what to think. She had avoided Christmas for years and here she was surrounded by it. She was keeping the inn so she might as well get used to it so she left them on.

"Take off that suit and get into bed, not just on it. I'll be right there." Kate went to her bag inside the armoire, got out her nightshirt, went into the bathroom and closed the door. She stripped off what she was wearing, removed the little bit of makeup she had on, and finished the rest of her nightly routine to get ready for bed.

She kept her panties and slipped into her nightshirt and looked at herself in the mirror. She was about to get into a bed with a man who just also happened to be a ghost. He was handsome and his kisses were electric. She wasn't really thinking about sex with him. She mostly just wanted to loosen his tongue and get him to tell her what he knew. She was going to need all she could get for a case this old.

It was a conflicted Kate Beckett that headed for her bed. She had a naked or almost naked man in her bed and that had always meant sex in the past. Did it mean sex this time?

Opening the door she saw that Rick was under the covers, his suit on the lone chair in the room. He was also watching her as he lay on his back and had his head turned her way.

Kate pulled back the covers on her side, got into bed and covered up, then turned on her side to face him. "Hi." She smiled at him, still not sure just what to do.

"Hi. This is really new. I haven't done this in a really long time." He meant be next to a woman in a bed. Not about to have sex.

"It's been a little while for me, too. Most guys aren't interested once they find out I'm a homicide detective and carry a gun," Kate told him.

"Just so long as you didn't bring it with you to bed," Rick teased her.

"Wouldn't help me if I did. You're already dead," Kate grinned.

"Touché." Yet again Rick really wished he wasn't dead like the countless number of times before this one.

"You don't sound like someone who grew up in the mid to late 1800s." His English was nearly perfect and he understood every word she'd used.

"Television. I don't have anything else to do for 11 months. I love that little kid dressed up as Darth Vader who tries to use the force on anything until his dad uses the remote for the car and shocks his little world. That was priceless." Rick smiled.

Kate chuckled. "Football, basketball, baseball, or something else. What sport do you like most?" she asked and prayed he'd say baseball.

"Soccer, definitely. I mean, seriously millions of dollars to one person for one year? There are a lot of stupid people out there. No one's worth that much money."

"They also spend a lot," Kate countered.

"And shoot their mouths off and insult anyone they choose. Do you have a more pleasant subject?" Rick was ready to talk about something else.

Kate switched to how or where he got killed. "You said you were born in Albany. Is that where you lived? What were you doing here that got you killed here?"

"I was renting a room near here so I could be closer to Kyra when she wasn't in classes and could leave the school to spend time with me."

"And then her parents showed up and took her away. Did you only see them that one time?" Kate asked him.

"No, I saw them a few times. I tried to show them that I wasn't what they thought I was. For all the good it did," Rick shrugged.

"So what did you do for a living?" Kate inquired. "There can't have been that much here at that time of year."

"I was a photographer. The camera I used then was nothing like the ones that are used now. Mine was big and bulky and if you weren't careful the chemicals would make you sick or worse. Little did I know the stuff I was using was doing things to my body. Medical knowledge was very limited back then and not anything like it is now." The stuff he had seen on TV was amazing compared to what he had grown up with.

"Yeah, I read about what happened if you were injured in the Civil War. They cut your leg off and you probably still died but not from the wound, but from having your leg cut off. No one knew about infections back then," Kate agreed.

"I didn't see that many of them thankfully and I mostly avoided the war. It wasn't easy though I did at one time have a lot of pictures of battles after they were over. Me, my equipment, and my wagon and two horses. I went where I thought I could get pictures."

"Then you ended up here," she said. It was just a school for girls.

"Women didn't have the freedom they do now. It was different then. It was amazing that there even was such a place. You need to remember what people thought of women back then. I took pictures of a lot of girls. It was how I met Kyra. At least until her parents came for a visit and then never left." Rick rolled his eyes.

"I went where I thought I could get away with it," he mentioned.

"Does that include going into the South?" Just how brave was he?

"A few times, yes. So long as you weren't wearing blue and knew how to change your accent and say the words correctly it really wasn't all that dangerous. Even they wanted to have their pictures taken. Pictures could last far past their lifetime and make a person immortal." Rick was proud of his work.

"Sounds like you enjoyed it," Kate commented.

"I got to meet a lot of people. Maybe no one famous now, but back then they might have made it." He had taken a lot of pictures in his time.

Kate decided to broach a subject that might be touchy, but she needed to know. "In her letter Abigail said that you gave her the money to get my dad into a good rehab clinic. It was where he finally got clean. She also said you gave her the money to upgrade the inn over the years. …Where did you get the money?"

Kate saw his face go cold then suddenly he was just gone. She sat up in bed. "**RICHARD RODGERS! You get back here this instant!**"she yelled, not concerned that anyone would hear her since it was just her and Rick. Maybe she had overstepped but she wasn't going to put up with this shit.

Rick reappeared; he was standing next to the bed. She saw that he'd been in bed naked. But she was too angry to pay that close attention just yet.

"Don't ever do that again. I'm trying to help you, damn it. If how you got the money has something to do with your death then I need to know." Kate pulled the covers on his side back. "Now get your butt back in this bed and if you ever do that again I'll…I'll spank you." If he was going to act like a kid than she would treat him like one.

Kate bit her lower lip since her eyes were glued on him as he went around the bed, slid back in on his side, and covered up again. Yeah, she definitely loved men. They had something no woman had and she liked that. No kid had what he had.

"Now let's hear it. If what you did has something to do with your death then I need to know or I'm looking in the wrong place." Kate was back to being on her side, facing him.

"You're not going to like it." He was a gentleman and what he had done to get that money had nothing to do with him being a gentleman.

"I already don't like it so let's hear it." Rick was on his back and wasn't looking at her so she reached out to turn his head to face her. She needed to be able to see him to tell if he was lying to her. She didn't want to treat it as an interrogation, she was learning to like him.

Rick closed his eyes. Kate was going to hate him, he just knew it. He had refused to tell Abigail for the same reason. "Kate?" Rick opened his eyes and saw the look on her face. He closed his eyes again and moaned. Then he felt her hand against the side of his face. He opened them again and looked into her eyes. She didn't look angry, at least not yet, but that was about to change.

"I was in the South during the early part of the war taking pictures. I met a pair of brothers along the way and for safeties sake we traveled together. At one of my stops I caught wind of something. The South was transporting crates of newly printed money. What I didn't know then was that the South's printed money had no backing. There wasn't any gold or anything behind it.

"The South was printing money for itself that would be worth something after they won the war. Not just the South but a number of counties inside the states in the South also printed their own money or script as it was sometimes called. All of it was based on the same premise. That when the South won the war it would all be worth something.

"The three of us hatched a plan and thanks to my job I found out how, when, where it was, and where it was going. I was just a photographer and didn't know anything about combat. My two new friends, however, had a little darker past, I came to find out.

"A quick strike, kill the driver and his buddy, steal the wagon, create a bottleneck for the men on horseback that would chase us and then block them.

"It all worked perfectly, amazingly enough. They killed the men, I drove the wagon while they rode ahead and behind me. We made it to my wagon without incident. I moved one of the crates to my wagon and we went our separate ways to try and throw them off. Why no one followed me I'll never know. I heard them but they all went after the other two.

"I didn't set foot inside any town for days and almost starved to death for fear that I would be caught if I did. I didn't stop, ended up killing both horses, and had to buy two more off of a farmer I came across. I even took a picture of him and his wife and gave it them free of charge for helping me.

"When I was far enough north I finally stopped and bought some food. I never really stopped, rain or shine, until I had made it home. Except Albany didn't feel safe. Actually no place felt safe.

"I still couldn't believe I'd actually done it. To this day I don't know what possessed me. But I had money now. Then I met Kyra and then her parents. If I was no better than hired help to her mother, what was she going to think of me when she found out I was a thief? Granted it was southern money, but I was just a common thief. A rich common thief but still a thief.

"I spent a lot of time wrapping up each stack of money into separate bundles. I made them as tight as I possibly could then wrapped them again. It didn't fit back into the crate anymore so I had to purchase another one just like it.

"Then I wrapped the crates. Twice even. I dug two holes when all of the girls were asleep. I lined each hole and put one crate in each of them. I made sure the lining went over the crates and then refilled the holes. I tried to pick a spot on the grounds where no one would ever want to build anything on it and find the crates.

"I never did dig them up again. Ever." Rick stopped and then huffed out a laugh. "Long afterward I found out the money I'd stolen was worthless. I saw that bit of information when I watched TV here. All that stupidity and effort and the stuff was worthless.

"I deserved it, I really did. I was so stupid." Rick closed his eyes, turned away from her, and waited for Kate to rip into him. He deserved it and he knew it.

"That doesn't explain how you gave Abigail money. If Confederate money's worthless where did the money come from?" Kate wasn't angry at him. Very disappointed in him, yes, but not angry. Besides he knew he had screwed up and should be dead before he was killed.

Rick huffed out another laugh. "That's the funny part. After all this time that money's now worth far more than what it was intended to be. A ten dollar bill is worth tens of thousands to a collector. There are so few confederate bills out there in good condition that they're extremely rare.

"Abigail found a collector and during December I would dig up one of the crates and give her what she needed. Now that money is buried in better containers to preserve it but the other crate is just like I left it. There's so much money left buried out there it would surprise you.

"What the money in the other crate looks like after all this time, I have no idea. Most of it should be fine, I'm guessing. The South is gone so there's no one to give the money back to. Besides they're all dead. Abigail didn't seem to mind so long as the money was put to good use.

"Some of it went to your dad and some of it went into this place. She insisted on some of it going to something called a non-profit organization. Abigail handled all that so I don't know." Rick was done; he was ready to just vanish and let her scream her head off at him.

He didn't have to show up to anyone in December. He could stay invisible and make December be just like all the other months now that Abigail was gone. Year after year after year.

Yet here he was, naked in bed with Kate who was young and beautiful and she had kissed him. He was dying to kiss her again. However, he was a gentleman. He needed to court her first yet he was dead. So how did a ghost court a living, breathing woman?

If he'd done what he had done in this time she would have him arrested and forget all about him. But he'd stolen from someone that didn't even exist now. It didn't sound like what he had done had gotten him killed. Still she would look into stealing Confederate money and if it had even happened at all. Maybe what he had done was never reported. After all the South had other things to worry about at the time.

So just what was she supposed to do? Abigail hadn't cared and this place was what it was because of that money. Her dad was sober because of that money.

Kate used her hand to gently turn his head to face her. He looked contrite and actually looked a little scared. "Go to sleep. We have guests arriving in the morning." Then Kate scooted across the bed so that all of her was pressed up against him. She even put her hand on his chest to hold him in place, put her leg between his then closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep. Her nose was pressed against him but she didn't smell him. If anything she smelled his pillow and sheets. It was almost like he wasn't there at all. Save that she could feel him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 9_

Kate blinked her eyes open and found she was roughly in the same place she'd been when she went to sleep. Rick was still right there and all she felt was a whole lot of skin. She was betting this was the first time she had ever slept with a man and not actually had sex with him. She had actually slept with him. Then she tilted her head up to look at him and realized he was looking at her.

"Have you been watching me all night long?" Kate asked since while she had obviously moved at least a little, she could swear he was just as she had last seen him.

"Told you I don't sleep." Rick had in fact just lay there and watched her sleep. He had learned a lot as she slept snuggled up right next to him. He had studied every line and curve that he could see all night long. Listened to every little huff and even a snort since something must have been funny as she dreamed.

"That's creepy. Maybe a little sweet but definitely creepy. What time is it?" Kate turned her head to look at the clock. It was easy to find since the Christmas tree lights were still on.

"We need to get up. The staff's going to start showing up soon if they haven't already." Kate let go of him and rolled over to get up. At that moment she knew that she already missed him. It felt weird not having him to hold on to.

"Get dressed and go unlock the doors to let the staff in while I take a shower. Unless you want to go first." She almost asked him to join her in the shower, but she wasn't ready for that.

"I've had a shower. My first in a really long time so I'm good," Rick said but stayed right where he was.

"I…" No, she wasn't ready just yet and since he was dead maybe she shouldn't even try. Still she leaned down to give him a quick kiss. "Go unlock the doors; it's time to be open for business." Kate got out of bed, went into the bathroom, and closed the door behind her.

Rick got up, got dressed, then vanished from sight. The various doors unlocked all on their own if anyone had been there to see it. He had on occasion locked them to play with their minds a little. The place was supposed to be haunted so during December when he could actually touch something he had had a little fun. He was dead, what else was he going to do?

Once the doors were unlocked he disappeared and went where he usually did to hide out.

Kate was clean, dry, and dressed and was putting on her makeup. This time since she was going to be greeting guests she put on a lot more than usual. She even used lipstick. Then she was putting on her high heels when she had an idea.

"Richard Rodgers, get in here," Kate called out. Rick, dressed in the very same suit as always, appeared in her doorway and stood there even though the door was still closed.

"Do you have another suit?" She was getting a little tired of seeing him in the same suit over and over again. "Never mind." She was betting it was a ghost thing.

"I was thinking. This place is supposed to be haunted and you're our resident ghost. Can you do things while not letting people see you? Close doors that they'd just opened? Turn the water back on or off? Make a picture tilt or something? I don't know, use your imagination."

"Yeah, I can. You're sure about this?" Rick asked. Abigail had never asked him to do anything like that. In fact she hadn't wanted him to do much of anything.

"We're supposed to be haunted so we should be haunted. Nothing mean, just make them question what's going on. And don't forget to do it to the staff. They've been complaining that they've never seen the ghost that's supposedly here. Somehow they've gotten the idea that I've seen you and they haven't. So mess with their minds a little. Have some fun. You only have December so do what you want."

"I can do that." Kate was actually asking for him to get involved instead of just being invisible like he had been for a really long time. A really long time.

"Good! Oh, one more thing. The maintenance staff said our hot water system's old. There's even this ancient old boiler still in that space. It's all going to need to be replaced eventually before we run out of hot water completely. So I'm asking if you'd please dig up some of your bills so I can sell them to pay for it. I'll try and find out how to sell them. The work won't happen until months from now but if you can only reach the bills in December I need to plan ahead."

"I can do that. …No peeking!" He didn't want anyone knowing about where the money was but him.

"I promise not to watch. Maybe a dozen or so. I don't know what this is going to cost or what I'm going to get for them. So decide how many you're comfortable giving me and leave them in my room, please. I give you permission to enter my room any time you want." Kate remembered he had said something about being a gentleman about entering her room.

There was a knock on her door. "Kate, are you up yet?" a voice asked.

Kate stepped closer to him. "Remember, we're haunted so haunt us and mess with the staff's minds. And please dig up those bills before December's over. Thanks." Kate gave him a quick kiss then changed her mind and kissed him hard. "Have fun."

Kate opened the door and hoped he remembered to disappear. She smoothed her hair and smiled. "Well look at you!" Kate recognized her by looking at her face, barely. She was in a period outfit and her hair was up; she had these little wisps of hair that weren't tucked in.

"Like it?" She twirled to show it all off.

"If everyone else is going to look like you I'm going to stand out like a sore thumb." Kate was sure she looked beautiful. She had worked hard enough at it and hadn't gotten this dressed up in a long time. She hadn't had a reason to.

"You can go into town and try and find something. I've had this for so long I don't remember where I got it. A vintage clothing store somewhere maybe," Lizzy said.

"I'm only here for three days so I think I'll just have to live with looking like a guest," Kate told her.

"Don't talk like that. This place is yours. You said you weren't selling it so talk like you plan on living here. …Please," she begged.

"I still don't know when but I'll try." Unless something changed and selling it was the best idea.

"Let's see how many people are here and get ready for our first guests." Kate went to the front desk. "And we need to turn off a lot of the Christmas lights. It's not dark out any longer and it's costing me money."

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate was up front most of the day and greeted each person that was clearly a guest come through the front doors. She smiled when they came back downstairs and asked what there was to do and see around here. The staff at the front desk handed over brochures for fishing, shopping, and train trips they could take that originated in New London.

She also listened as many of the guests commented on how they loved their costumes. Kate finally settled on telling them that she needed a new one or actually an old one, just new to her.

"What happened in here!" Kate heard someone complain. She hurried into the dining room that was being set up for their first lunch. She put both hands over her mouth to hide her smile and attempted to keep from laughing outright. Rick had apparently taken what she had told him to heart. This room was all screwed up. It wasn't that anything was broken. It was just that all of the plates were on one table. All of the coffee cups on another and all of the silverware on another.

The wait staff got to work fixing it and Kate retreated to her room so she could finally laugh out loud. Then suddenly Rick was standing in front of her in her room. "Too much?" he asked her.

"It was perfect!" Kate couldn't help but give him a quick kiss. "Keep it up. I want to hear at least one guest question if we're really haunted. You're doing great." Kate was done laughing so she returned to the front desk but soon left to check on the kitchen, housekeeping, and then the maintenance staff.

"How long do you think this thing will last?" She needed to plan on who to talk to and get estimates for a new hot water system.

"A few years unless something goes wrong so you have time. Just don't forget about us," Franklin said worriedly.

"Nope, I just need to be able to plan for it. It's already in the works." She had asked Rick for the money so she wasn't lying. "Do we get rid of this thing at the same time?" Kate inquired as she gestured to that ancient boiler that was collecting nothing but dust and spiderwebs.

"You might want to consider razing the entire room and everything in it and replacing it," Jonah advised her.

"I won't have any hot water then and for a long time." That wasn't going to work. "I'll think of something. Thanks, guys." Kate left them, wondering how she was going to fix this problem. Why did everything need money that she didn't have. Yet somehow Abigail had managed.

Kate saw everything in the dining room was back to normal and bit her lower lip to keep from smiling. Then she heard some yelling coming from the kitchen so she went in there and saw Curt trying to find out who put red food dye in the mashed potatoes.

"This place _is_ called Magical," Kate reminded him. "Christmas is getting closer. Maybe you should get more food coloring." She quickly left and put her back against the door and snorted out a laugh. Rick was really letting her staff have it. Maybe she would talk to him tonight about toning it down a little.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate spent most of her day near the front desk. She took her evening meal to her room. The staff was back to fending for themselves now that they had guests and the inn was open again.

She shouldn't be but she was eating in bed since while she had a chair she didn't have a table to eat on. Then Rick appeared. She grinned at him. "You've been having a good time," Kate smiled.

"It's actually fun. Usually I just do nothing. This is so much better." Rick was thoroughly enjoying his new job.

"You might want to do a little less. We're trying to be haunted, not scare everyone to death so that they don't come back," Kate reminded him.

"So I shouldn't have taken an open suitcase and thrown all their clothes all over in one room?" Rick asked innocently.

That had Kate snorting out the food in her mouth as she threatened to go into an all out laughing attack. "Maybe not for another few days. Remember, haunt not scare them to death. That was good, though." Kate wished she had thought of that.

"Got it. You're so much more fun than Abigail," Rick said then suddenly vanished.

Kate was wondering why he'd gone when someone showed up at her door. "We have a complaint, Kate," Judith informed her.

"Did the hot water stop working?" She saw her shaking her head. "Maintenance didn't fix something?" Kate tried again but it was another no.

"They came back to their room to find all of their clothes spread out all over their room," Judith said, wringing her hands.

Once again Kate snorted out a laugh. Rick was really getting noticed now. "If they believe it was our housekeeping staff I'll talk to them. However you might remind them that we are haunted."

"We've never been this haunted before," Judith said, her eyes wide.

"Well maybe our ghost didn't like us being closed any more than you and the others did. If something's damaged have them present it for replacement. Just remind them we _are_ haunted."

"Yes, ma'am. This Christmas is going to be different," Judith commented before leaving.

"You can say that again." Kate didn't just mean what Rick was now doing. She meant her life in general. One little visit from an attorney about an aunt she barely remembered had brought her to this. It felt…different. Being a homicide detective was hard work and she was willing to admit that she almost never smiled. Now she was smiling and laughing and actually having a little fun.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate took her empty dinner dishes to the kitchen and got a cup of coffee to take back to her room. Once again it had what looked like a tree in the foam on top. It still tasted terrific.

Going into her room she found Rick waiting for her. She closed and locked the door. "What's with the smile?" Kate queried and took a sip of her coffee.

"I haven't had this much fun since I was killed," Rick grinned.

"Just try to not over do it. You're haunting this place, not trying to drive everyone out of the building running and screaming. We need those guests to pay the bills," Kate reminded him.

"I promise to be a good ghost," Rick said with his hand over his heart.

"Thank you. …Now get out of that suit and into bed. We're going to try this sleeping at night again." Kate went into the bathroom and took her cup of coffee with her.

She only drank half of her coffee and left it in the bathroom. She came back into the bedroom wearing her sleepshirt and panties just like last time and saw Rick was already in bed.

Kate got in bed then rolled on her side. She had more questions for him. "Was it Confederate soldiers that were after you after you stole the money or was it more local like a sheriff or something?"

"They were wearing gray so I'm guessing Confederate soldiers. It was who was guarding it when the other two killed those two on the wagon."

"You're certain none of them followed you?" Kate asked.

"None that I saw. Why would they follow me all the way up here? In Confederate uniforms?" That was a death sentence in his eyes.

"So you wrapped it all up and buried and no one saw you?" Then Kate answered her own question. "If they had they would have dug it up for themselves. It wouldn't be there when you gave it to Abigail."

"All right, we can rule out Confederate soldiers. My history is a bit spotty around this time but wasn't there a group of men that fought both sides? Or was that just a Clint Eastwood movie?" Kate was getting mixed up.

"Outlaw Josie Wales. That was a good movie." Rick was all smiles and saw the look she was giving him. "I've watched a lot of TV."

"With people sitting on you. I remember." Kate wasn't really surprised that he had watched a lot of TV. What else was he going to do? Read a book when he couldn't turn the pages?

"You want to talk about creepy. Have a guy sit on you and you sit there and watch your movie looking though someone's head."

Kate tried not to picture that. "What about enemies in Albany? Someone who didn't like their picture? Someone you refused to take a picture of? You didn't get the chemicals that you wanted and paid for and they told you to go take along walk off a short pier?"

"I was just a simple photographer. No Indians in New York. No more British. No little green men from Mars," Rick said and tried to hide his smile.

Kate laughed. "You've been watching way too much TV. Were you feeling ill in any way? Had a cold or the flu or something worse?"

"No more than usual. Remember the chemicals that were used back then were not exactly safe for your health. From what I've learned it would still take years for me to die. I wasn't going to like it since it was going to be painful, but no, not those chemicals. Now if you were stupid enough to ingest them, that would be bad. I don't know if it could act that kind of fast though."

"I'll look it up," Kate said. "What did they teach in this girls school? Did they use chemicals?" Physics class maybe? Dissect a frog? Something far more dangerous?

"I don't know. Girl stuff. What did they teach girls back then? I know it's not what they teach them today." Rick knew that much for certain.

"What about Kyra's parents? How did they make their money to be upper crust from New York City?" Maybe they had something to do with his death. They didn't want him being involved with their daughter.

"They had an import export company. The biggest in the North in the day, I believe," Rick told her. "They weren't just rich they were what they call stinking rich today. I don't know if their company still exists or not. Oh, they were also the biggest producer of salt bases in Syracuse if I remember correctly."

Kate nodded thoughtfully. "Import and export might mean they had access to anything they wanted. Salt might mean shipping options. I'll look into it."

"You really think Kyra's parents had something to do with my death?" He knew they didn't like him but enough to kill him?

"I don't discount anything until I can. I go where the evidence takes me. What I need first though is evidence. If I can get it from them even this much later I will," Kate promised.

"And it wasn't little green men from Mars," she said with a smile.

"You didn't used to believe in ghosts," Rick reminded her.

"Oh, shut up and go to sleep." Like last time Kate scooted across, laid her hand on him, and entwined one of her legs with his. Then pressed her face into him. She still couldn't smell him but she could feel him.

"You know I don't sleep."

"Make an exception just for me." Kate pressed her lips against him but couldn't taste anything, either. She could just feel him. She closed her eyes and willed her stupid brain to shut down so she could sleep. It was just that what she needed was her white board and at least one lead to work with.


	10. Chapter 10

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 10_

Kate blinked her eyes open and saw Rick looking right at her. "Hi." He just kept looking at her. "You've been awake all night again, haven't you? Watching me all night long."

Rick grinned at her. "Yep, you make some of the cutest little noises when you sleep."

"Oh, God." Kate turned her face so that it was buried in someone's pillow. "Still creepy, Rick," she said into the pillow. It was embarrassing.

There was only one man who she'd ever slept with like this and he hadn't said a thing. Though he more than likely had been sleeping like she'd been she so didn't notice. He'd chosen his job over her and had been delusional about her just up and deciding to follow him anywhere he went. He and his job came first and what she wanted didn't fit into his plans.

"You're leaving today." Rick rolled on his back and stared up at the ceiling. He really didn't want her to leave. She was all he had and he only had her for one month. Just like Abigail except he had never been in her bed like Kate asked.

"My vacation's over." Kate raised her head back up and looked at him. "Don't look like that. I'll be back. I just don't know when. Getting another week of vacation is out. I'll have to wait for when I have a day or two off and then take a train to get here." Kate watched as he kept staring at the ceiling.

"I am coming back." Kate reached out to touch his arm. "And I'm not selling the inn." What she was ultimately going to do with it was something she still needed to work out.

"I need to get ready. I need to make sure someone's in charge while I'm gone. That and I need to go to the bank and collect the staffs' weekly paychecks and hand them out." Kate had things she needed to do so the inn ran smoothly while she was gone.

"You want the shower?" Kate asked but he shook his head. She kissed his cheek and hurried into the bathroom where she stripped and got into the shower.

Rick was curious but he was also a gentleman so he didn't peek. Instead he put on his suit and waited for her to come back into the bedroom. Last time he hadn't waited for her she'd been upset with him. So he walked around the room.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate came back out with a towel around her, gathered up what she was going to wear today, and went back into the bathroom to get dressed.

She came out dressed for her short day before her four hour drive home, getting rid of her rental, and then taking a taxi home. Kate picked up her heels and slipped them on. Finally ready she stood in front of him.

"Have fun. Remember you're a ghost. Haunt them, don't scare them to death. Just don't cause an accident, please," Kate asked him; he nodded.

"One more thing. I always work Christmas day at work. My other work in the city. I do it for two main reasons. One is it allows people with families to enjoy the holiday with their family. The other is Dad and I don't so I won't be here for Christmas itself. I've been thinking. Only I and Abigail have ever seen you.

"I was thinking that for a Christmas day present you might want to show yourself to a couple of the staff. Nothing major, just let them see you then walk around the corner and disappear. A lot like you did when I first got here. Give them something to talk about. It might make their day," Kate smiled.

Unexpectedly he enveloped her in his arms. "Homicide detective and not an innkeeper, huh?" Rick tipped his head and raised his eyebrows.

"I'm learning." Kate instinctively slipped her arms around him. "I'm still conflicted as to just what to do. I've worked really hard at being a homicide detective. I needed to be one for a reason. But I learned that if I didn't drop it it would destroy me." Thanks to her heels she could look directly into his eyes. They were lovely and a soft blue.

"Sounds like you need a reason to be here instead of there. So I'm going to give you one." Rick gently caressed her cheek.

That had Kate confused. How could he give her anything? He was dead and she was still trying to get used to seeing and touching a ghost.

"You remove the curse and free me from being trapped here and I'll be here waiting for you. Abigail was an amazing woman and yes, I loved her for what she tried to do. I'm learning to care for you just as much." Then suddenly Kate found herself being kissed. She kissed him back and his kisses were still electric. She put as much passion as she could into her kiss. The only problem was that his mouth as her tongue searched it was that he had no taste. There was nothing there.

When he finally broke from the kiss Kate stared at him. He had just offered, no, told her that he would be here for her. Not help her but be here specifically for her.

Kate could feel her heart pounding and was pretty sure her blood pressure went through the roof. He was handsome, he was kind, and yes, he had a sense of humor. He'd also done everything she had asked of him. He was offering to be her boyfriend or even her husband. All she had to do was free him by finding out who had killed him.

"It may not work like that, you know." Kate's voice quavered. "You're a ghost now. You may simply just vanish and go where everyone goes. Where ever that is." If ghosts really did exist maybe heaven and hell did too. It was just that she hadn't lived her life like that and wasn't interested in starting.

"What if I don't, Kate? What if I have a choice? I was murdered and somehow I'm still here. …Okay, I get it. If everyone who was murdered turned into ghosts this planet would be filled with ghosts. I'm not a murderer. I'm just a stupid thief who got it all wrong and ended up here."

Kate let her forehead rest against his chest.

"I'm not asking you to marry me. I'm asking you to let me court you if I don't just disappear. Will you let me do that? If it doesn't work out we can both go our own ways. Maybe I can figure out how to be a photographer again." Hope shown in his eyes.

"Go to dinner, watch a movie, go walk in the park. I can do that. …I can do that." Kate kissed him again.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate walked around and handed out envelopes that each held a check. It gave her a chance to put a name to each face she saw. A few were names that she was more likely to remember than others.

She also warned each one that she probably wouldn't be there to hand them out next time and to expect to find them in the mail. That is if they hadn't filled out the form to set up direct deposit. They were supposed to fill them out and mail them to the address indicated.

She couldn't hand them out to everyone since the Magical Inn was now open 24 hours a day. The doors were never locked and that meant there was a night staff that wasn't going to be there before she left. She left theirs at the front desk.

Bailey hadn't taken no for an answer so she had the keys to Kate's car and had driven it around to the front.

Almost everyone was at the front desk area and spilled into the two adjoining spaces. Kate had never seen anything like it. Literally everyone was dressed in their period outfits that befit this place, who they were, and how they celebrated. More than that each one was there to say goodbye to Kate.

"I don't know what to say." No one anywhere had done this for her. Individuals, perhaps, but not an entire place.

"Just tell us you'll be back," one of them asked.

"I gave her a reason to come back," a man's voice rang out. Everyone turned and saw a man in what looked like a period suit standing there, only to watch him walk around the corner and disappear from sight.

"Who was that?" She had never seen any of the staff look like him or dressed like him.

"That, people, was our ghost." Kate was smiling widely. She'd suggested revealing himself to just one or two and Rick had shown almost everyone. "See you guys later." Kate picked up her bag and went out the front door.

"Our ghost!?" Melody asked, her eyes wide.

"That… That…" someone else stammered. She was like all of them. Shocked and standing there staring at where he had been.

"Hi, Bailey!" Kate had trusted her to not actually hide her car and leave her stranded here.

"You're sure you need to leave? Okay, New York City is bigger. Is that really where you want to live?" Bailey made one final attempt to change her mind.

"My vacation's over but there's something I need to do that I can't do here. I'll be back when I get a couple of days off. That might not happen for a week or more but I'll be back. And I'm not selling the place. Long term, we'll just have to see."

Bailey gave in and handed over the car keys. "If you must."

"I do have a parting gift for you." Kate bit her lip to keep from smiling. She was sure this would blow her mind. "Rick, get out here for a second," Kate called out and instantly Rick was in solid form, standing right behind her.

Kate grinned as she looked at the shock on Bailey's face. "Bailey, this is Rick. He's our resident ghost and a very, very good friend. I might even get a chance to date him some day." Kate looked at him with a smile just for him.

"You better disappear," Kate whispered and he vanished before their eyes.

"That was…that was…" Bailey was still standing there with her mouth hanging open.

"He has orders to haunt the inn a little. I'm giving you a job while I'm gone. If he overdoes it I want you to call him out on it. Give him a piece of your mind and get him to calm it down a little," Kate said.

"I…yeah." Bailey was trying to put a hand through were Rick used to be standing.

"Take care of yourself, Bailey." Kate picked up her suitcase and stowed it in the trunk. She came back to the drivers door. Bailey was still just standing there.

"Are you okay? Rick really is a good man." Kate didn't want to leave her in complete shock.

"Yeah, I'm good. We really have a ghost. And I got to see him!" Bailey was beaming with excitement.

"Merry early Christmas, Bailey." Kate could have saved it for later. It was still almost three weeks until Christmas.

"Yeah, Merry Christmas." Bailey was still smiling. She watched as Kate drove away. "Does this mean you'll show up when I call your name now?" Bailey asked loudly and looked around but didn't see him. Her shoulders slumped. "I guess not."

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate was finally home. However, she wasn't really smiling any longer. She had basically stopped the minute she got deeper into the city where she dropped off her rental car and took a taxi home.

Opening her door and walking inside her apartment she still wasn't smiling. It didn't look anything like the inn. She had furniture, however she'd bought it because it was cheap not because she loved it. The place looked darker and gloomier than she remembered it being.

Kate took her bag to her bedroom to unpack but ended up throwing most of it into her hamper. She changed into something more casual but still good enough to leave and get something to eat.

Half an hour later and Kate was sitting on the floor at her coffee table eating Chinese again. As she ate she remembered that about this time that attorney had shown up and changed her life. Though technically it wasn't him that had changed it. Her Aunt Abigail that had changed her life.

The place was quiet and she found that she didn't like it so she pushed her dinner aside. She turned on the TV. She used the remote to flip through the channels until she found something worth watching. She stopped at an early Christmas movie. It wasn't Christmas yet but movies about Christmas had already started.

Her Christmas tree was missing. Her antiques were missing. Her bathroom was tiny in comparison to the other bathroom and didn't look anywhere near as nice. Even her bed was smaller.

Kate finally ate the rest of her dinner and found herself watching all of the Christmas movie even though she had seen it years ago. Back before her mother had been killed.

It wasn't too late yet so she pulled out her cell phone and scrolled her list until she found the number she wanted.

"Hi, Dad." Kate knew her dad was her best bet on finding something on what had happened to Rick.

"Hi, Katie. Are you home yet?" He hoped she wasn't talking and driving.

"I've been home long enough to unpack, get dinner, and eat it. How's your day been?"

"I spent it scrolling through film after film trying to find you something. So far I have nothing. Sorry." Jim was doing what he could.

"Focus on Kyra's parents. From what I've learned they were prominent people in New York City at the time. Made their money on an import export business. Which to me sounds more like railroad since I'm not sure import and export was all that big at the time."

"Now that I can do. Anyone with that kind of money would have records and easy to find. So how was your trip? Did you warm up to the inn since you've decided not to sell it?" Jim was curious what got her to decide to keep it.

"Yeah, I warmed up to the place pretty fast. I can see why Aunt Abigail liked it so much. It's gorgeous and full of antiques. Wood floors everywhere and the staff of the place, you wouldn't believe the staff. So very friendly and very helpful. Would you believe that everyone that works there has to wear a period costume? I never did think to ask where they got them. Or if Abigail bought them for them or they had to buy them themselves I didn't think to ask." Kate could kick herself over that.

"Likely Abigail gave them a certain amount and let them buy what they wanted. Go to one of those more upscale restaurants where everyone wears the same thing that has the name of the place on it. Most likely the owner provided what they are wearing," Jim explained.

That at least made Kate feel better. But she did need to go shopping to get her own period costume to wear when she went back. Their first day they were back open with guests coming showed just how out of place she was.

"I'm also trying to get used to the entire town being all about Christmas. I don't want to think about the electrical bill I'm going to get for December and Abigail only left just so much money to cover expenses. And when I left we weren't even has half capacity yet." Kate was complaining and hadn't even noticed.

Suddenly Jim was laughing at her. "What's so funny?" She didn't see anything funny.

"You. You sound just like what I would think an owner of an inn would sound like. Spending money and not making enough money to cover expenses. If you don't make enough money you have to borrow money. That or you lay off workers or find other ways to reduce expenses."Jim was still chuckling at her.

Kate smiled widely for the first time since she'd gotten home. He was right. She was worried about money. If Abigail didn't leave her enough she was going to have to dip into her savings to make up the difference.

However, she might have an alternative. "Dad, do you know anything about selling antiques? About who might want to buy them? Besides an antique store." They would give her just pennies on the dollar and make a fortune off of Rick's Confederate dollars.

"Can't say that I do. But if it's old enough and rare enough you might want to talk to auction houses. The kind that would sell really rare Ming vases or something. Like Sotheby's for example. A place that like would get something noticed and might bring top dollar. …Did Abigail leave you something after you got there?" Why else would she ask?

"Something like that. I've also learned my water heating system is old and needs to be replaced. I should have taken pictures. You should see this ancient old coal fired boiler that's still there. Dusty, dirty, full of cobwebs…, yuk." Kate listened to him laugh again which made her smile again.

She had really thought that owning and operating an inn would be so much harder. Not that this one was all that easy. If she could just come to terms with all the Christmas stuff.

"Sounds to me like you have a handle on the situation. I am glad you didn't sell it. Keep it in the family, so to speak. Abigail wasn't a Beckett but she was still family," Jim said.

"Yeah, me, too. I'll talk to you later, Dad. Let me know what you find out. Love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart." Jim hung up and Kate put her phone down.

Her movie was over and her dinner carton needed to go in the trash. Plus she had to get ready for bed. She had to go back to work in the morning.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate was dressed in her normal panties and sleepshirt. Except she was restless. It wasn't the bed. Okay, maybe it was the bed. But it was also the room.

There were no Christmas lights on a Christmas tree. No wood burning fireplace that she hadn't even tried using. She punched her pillow then grabbed the other one to try and cuddle up next to it. Even that wasn't helping any.

She ended up on her back with her arms and legs splayed wide. Then she tried again and finally realized what she was trying to do.

There was no Rick to curl up next to. They had only done it three times. Did she really miss him that much? Even worse she'd only just gotten home. She wasn't going to go back until she had a couple of days off and that might not be for a week or more likely two. Frustrated, she thumped her head on the pillow. What was she going to do?


	11. Chapter 11

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 11_

"BECKETT!" Espo just got in. Kate had bested his arrival by two and a half hours since she couldn't get any sleep. "How was vacation?" He wanted to hear everything.

"It was nice, actually," Kate said as she yawned. She couldn't help it and covered her mouth with her hand. "How long have you had the case?" There was something on the board. She had looked at it but until she was assigned to it it wasn't hers and didn't want to step on someone's toes.

"That?" Espo pointed at the white board. "That's a cold case. The second you leave and things get quiet around here. Montgomery sent us down to storage and picked one out. We haven't really made much headway on it yet."

"Really? I am _not_ the cause of murders in this city Espo," Kate informed him tartly.

"I only go where the evidence takes me. Now that you're back things will pick up. You just watch." Espo booted up his computer and ignored the look Kate was sending his way.

Kate was going through what was waiting for her in her computer and wading through all the crap that had been sent her way.

"Hey, Beckett." Ryan was in and watched her yawn. "When did you get in, an hour ago?" She looked really tired.

"I didn't get much sleep last night, is all. I'm told it was quiet while I was gone." Kate checked just to make sure Espo wasn't yanking her chain.

"Yeah, you go on vacation and the city goes silent. You should go on vacation more often. We get to go on vacation without actually having to go anywhere." Ryan smiled at her as he moved to his desk.

"Be careful what you wish for," Kate warned him.

Ryan no sooner sat down when his phone rang. He wrote down the particulars. "We got a body," he announced as he hung up.

"Told you, Beckett," Espo piped up, stoked that he was right. Kate came back and _BAM_, they got a murder.

Kate ignored him as she gathered up her stuff and went to her car. It was just her luck; she got trapped in traffic and arrived late.

Espo told her what they'd found. "Caucasian, female. Couple of strippers found her."

"Purse is missing, no ID and get this, we couldn't find her shoes." Ryan loved this part of this case.

Kate got Ryan and Espo moving. "Canvas the buildings around the plaza and get uniforms to check the trash cans and dumpsters in the area for the purse."

She walked over and knelt down to look at the body. "Hey, Lanie.

"How was your vacation?" Lanie was curious and watched Kate yawn yet again.

"Very nice actually. Cause of death?" Kate was ready for work.

"Stabbing. There's a fatal wound in her back. Maybe a robbery gone wrong," Lanie suggested.

"Maybe. Have to find out who she is and what she was doing here so late." Kate started with that.

Lanie handed something over to Kate. "This was on her wrist."

"She was at a club. This is Teddy Farrow's logo. Only serves women. Upscale. Expensive." She now at least had a lead. "Is there a label in her dress?" Kate inquired and waited while Lanie checked.

"Teddy Farrow," Lanie confirmed.

"That might mean she's one of his models. Maybe he can identify her for us. Give us a name to work with." Kate gave back what had been on her wrist for Lanie to bag.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"Jennifer. Jennifer Boyd. She was supposed to walk for me today. God, what happened to her?" Teddy handed back the picture Kate had taken of her body.

"Look Jenny was a small town girl. Straight off the bus. She was a rising star but wasn't ready for what was coming her way.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"She was a lock. She was Teddy's favorite. I'm wearing her gown. She was supposed to close this showing wearing it but she didn't answer any of my calls. …Oh, God, does Travis know? Her husband?" This was new to Kate. She got a name and a number from her.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Espo showed Kate the picture. "You know to take a picture like this. You need a telephoto lens from a rooftop."

"See if you can figure out which rooftop. Maybe there's something up there that will help us. No wonder she was freaking out. 'I saw you yesterday, did you see me? I wanted to taste you.' Not something a small town girl was expecting to find." Kate felt for her.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"Time of death is between 2:00 and 5:00 am," Lanie told Kate as they look over the body on her table.

"She left the party at midnight. What was she doing for two hours or more? Still wearing Teddy's gown and shoes?" Kate yawned yet again since she'd gotten almost no sleep last night, either.

"Any signs of sexual assault?" She was young and being hunted based on what Kate knew and the pictures she had seen.

"No, but she put up a fight. There's some bruising on her arms and hands. Her dress was torn and there's a cut inside her cheek indicating that she was slapped, hard. But here's the weird part. She was stabbed in the back with something long and sharp. Not your typical blade, either. I made a drawing of it based on the wound." Lanie handed it over. "Also I found glass in the wound."

"A miniature Washington Monument?" Kate asked just as her phone rang.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"Wyatt the photographer lives next door to the crime scene?" Kate couldn't believe what Espo and Ryan had for her to see.

"It gets better. That alibi he has isn't so concrete. He left at 11:15 pm and showed up at the Teddy Farrow party at midnight," Espo said.

"He lied to us." Kate hated it when people lied to her, especially when it concerned her case. "Let's have a nice talk with him and get warrant to have his apartment searched. He's a photographer for Teddy. Maybe he does more than just have sex with Teddy's models and take their pictures."

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"Here I thought modeling was glamorous." They were boxing up everything since they had Wyatt as Ryan put a folder into his.

"Jenny's best friend was drugging her, her photographer kills her, even her clothing designer was more interested in his precious show and not his model." Espo shook his head at the waste of a young life.

Kate paced back and forth in front of the white board. "If Wyatt killed her, why didn't he do a better job of cleaning up his place? We found her shoes, her DNA, and we even found blood. He lives right outside of where he dumps her body. …What if he didn't kill her? This is too easy, guys. We need to find that phone in her purse. If her phone was recording everything maybe it recorded her being killed. She had it at Wyatt's place and left with it if Wyatt's telling the truth. Search that building and everything around it. We need that purse!"

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"Looking good, Detective Beckett." Espo and Ryan were wearing smug looks on their faces now that the case was done. Jenny's husband had admitted to killing his wife in a fit of jealousy.

"How did you two get this picture?" Kate hated this picture.

"We're detectives," Ryan grinned.

"We called your dad," Espo admitted.

"Okay, okay, you two have had your fun. I was seventeen and I thought modeling would make me more money than waitressing. It was one summer. No big deal. And if this gets out of this office, I will kill both of you," Kate threatened. God help her if the staff at the hotel got hold of this, let alone Rick. Someone was going to have to die for this if it did.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

After that one case they had a few days of nothing so they were all back to working that same dead file. Only none of them were getting anywhere with it. Kate got two days off though her second day was going to find her on call.

Kate wasted no time in calling the inn to tell them what train she was going to be on and arrange for someone to meet her at the train station. She wasn't told who but she figured she would recognize someone.

She had an overnight bag and one dress box and traveled in an economy seat.

Getting off the train she walked around the depot, looking for a friendly face. Then she saw someone jumping up and down and waving her arms. Kate kicked herself for not guessing who would come get her.

Bailey took the dress box from Kate. "I got my mom to drive me out here." She wanted to be able to talk with Kate the entire way so she'd talked her mom into driving instead of asking for the car.

Everything went into the trunk while Kate got the passenger seat and Bailey sat in the back. "Mom, this is Kate. Kate, this is my mom." Bailey was so excited as she introduced them.

Bailey's mother corrected her for Kate's benefit. "She means Amelia."

"Well she's Mom to me." Bailey crossed her arms across her chest and sulked as she sat back in her seat.

Amelia ratted out her own daughter. "Bailey hasn't stopped talking about you since you took over the inn. Especially the ghost."

"You told your mother?" Kate turned to look back at Bailey.

"Well yeah, she's my mom. I didn't tell anyone else," Bailey grumbled.

"And how many people have you told?" Kate looked at Amelia.

Amelia rolled her eyes. "Just my husband. Not that he believed a word I said. Besides if you didn't want the entire town to know he shouldn't have shown himself to most of the staff."

"Great. Rick remains hidden for countless years and in one day I screw all that up. He's going to kill me." Kate sank into her seat while Amelia drove.

"This is a small town. Once a secret's out the entire town knows. Welcome to living in a small town. Your business is now everyone else's business. You'll get used to it. No one keeps a secret around here for long," Amelia told Kate.

"Abigail did somehow," Kate reminded her.

"So how long are you staying?" Bailey asked from the back seat.

"I have to go back tomorrow." Kate heard Bailey moan. "I still have to solve something first before I can think of anything else. I'm sorry but this needs to happen."

Kate changed the subject so neither of them asked too many questions. "So what's Rick been up to since I've been gone?"

"I don't know it all since only two guests complained, _BUT _somehow he kept turning their TV off while they were watching it. We had maintenance to go check it out and naturally they didn't find anything.

"Now the other one was genius. They left the bathroom and turned off the light. He turned it back on. Over and over again until they finally called down to the front desk to complain." Bailey explained. Both Amelia and Kate broke out in laughter.

"They told the front desk that they were telling everyone they know that they have to stay here and that they'll be back as soon as they can. He certainly is leaving an impression." Bailey grinned. "He still won't show up when I call him, though. Maybe you can talk him into that." Bailey had a zillion questions for him. Not to mention that she wanted to see a real live ghost again.

"I'll see what I can arrange. No promises, though." Kate turned to look at Bailey who Kate could tell that she had just said yes. "So anything else happen?"

Bailey shrugged. "Not really, no. I got my paycheck in the mail though even though I filled out that direct deposit stuff you left behind."

"I'm sorry," Kate said. "They warned me it would take a pay period for it to kick in and I forgot to tell everyone. The next one should be direct deposit. Which reminds me, I need to call the bank and make sure they understand."

"You sound like an inn owner to me. Bailey told me that you had no idea what you were doing," Amelia said.

"You sound like my dad. He thought I sounded like one, too. I'm still pretty sure it can't be this simple. I have to be missing something." Kate just knew it wasn't this simple. Then suddenly two things hit her.

"Property taxes. Income taxes. Property insurance. I'm in so much trouble. Abigail only left just enough money for December." She had big money troubles in her future.

"You'll think of something." Bailey had faith.

"Better hope so or I may have to sell it whether I want to or not," Kate warned her.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate was walking into the inn with her suitcase in hand when her phone announced she had a message. "You can't go back now. You just got here." Bailey was sure it was bad news.

_Christie's has an auction planned for December 26 in New York. You need to get your item(s) there before they print the brochure for it. You have three days._

_Sotheby's has one scheduled for January 1, also in New York. You need to get your item(s) to them two weeks before the auction so they can add it to the schedule._

_I'm still looking for others._

"It's just my dad telling me I don't have much time for something. Now I really have to get back tomorrow." Kate put her phone away and walked inside, saying hello to a few staff members. She made her way to her room and was surprised to find that it was unlocked.

Bailey handed her the key to her room. "I'm going to go tell the others that you're here."

"Well you're here safe and sound so I'm going to go back to work," Amelia said.

"I took you away from work?" Kate didn't want that.

"I have a small store down by the old abandoned steel mill. I had the time. Nothing to worry about. Enjoy your stay." Amelia gave her a short wave and hurried off.

Kate closed and locked the door after she left. "Rick!" She really needed to see him and suddenly he was right in front of her. She couldn't help herself. She sagged against him in relief then slipped her arms around him and held him tight.

"Miss me?" Rick teased her.

"Shut up," Kate said to his chest since she was wearing flats instead of heels.

She had things she needed to do but she wanted to just soak him up for a little longer. "I'm going to need those bills soon. Like I need to leave with them tomorrow. Dad found two auction houses with auctions scheduled soon that I can put them in." Kate kept talking into his chest.

"They're in the bottom of your armoire. Trust me when I say they aren't easy to retrieve and get in here. I have to use a real shovel and dig a real hole. Then fill it back in again and make it look like no one has been there. After that I have to get them inside. I might be a ghost but none of those things are." Rick held her tight since he had missed her more than he had words for.

Kate chuckled softly since she could almost see a shovel floating through the air and digging into the ground. Then bills floating through the air.

This time Kate looked up at him. "Bailey tells me you've been having fun."

Rick grinned. "Just one per day. You said haunt them not scare them. It was fun, though."

"That I did. Sounds like you did your job well." Kate liked what he had done or at least the ones Bailey knew about.

"May I?" Rick was a gentleman and needed her permission.

"May you what?" Kate was still looking up at him not understanding what he needed permission to do.

"Do this." Rick kissed her and felt her kissing him back instantly. When he broke from the kiss Kate moved her hands to pull his face down to her so she could kiss him again and deepen the kiss. She still didn't taste anything but she liked both kisses a lot.

"We're still testing if you sleep at night again tonight," Kate informed him. "Now shoo, I need to get dressed for the day." But she kissed him again before releasing him.

Once Rick was gone she opened her dress box and lifted out the dress that was inside. It was time to surprise the staff.

Kate wasn't sure just which pair of shoes to wear. The tennis shoes she had come here in or the heels she had brought in her bag, so she tried both. Since she didn't want the dress dragging across the floor she kept the heels, put on the jewelry that she had found to go with it, and looked at herself in the mirror. Maybe her hair should be more curly but it was also a little short for that so she left it as it was.

Stepping out into the hall and locking her door behind her she went to the front desk. Kate saw both of their mouths drop open as she came up to the desk. "Kate?" It looked like her and it didn't look like her. Naturally everyone knew she was coming and when her train was arriving.

Kate spun in place. "Like it?" Kate was smiling since she felt so much different here and wearing this dress here.

"You look amazing!" Melody gushed.

"I'm not sure light blue is your color but you look fantastic," Adam told Kate.

"I found it in an old clothing store in the city. Most of them were ball gowns. Made me look like I was wearing this giant bell and ballooned way out to here." Kate spread her arms wide to demonstrate. "I wasn't sure I would even fit through the French doors let alone something narrower. Besides it was the only one in my size. Apparently women back then weren't as tall as I am so beggars couldn't be choosers. I'll try another store later."

"It's you, definitely you," Adam said.

"So tell me how we are doing?" Kate wanted to hear reservation numbers.

"We're presently at 69% capacity. Next week we'll be 81%. Christmas week and the following two weeks we're already at 100% so we're picking up," Melody announced happily.

"That's great! Maybe December won't be as bad as I feared after all." Then Kate changed the subject. "Bailey tells me our ghost has made his presence known."

"I'll say," Melody grinned. "No one sees him but he's been busy. I only heard we were haunted, now I know we are. Kate, um…, when you left last time, was that guy we saw our ghost? And how long are you here for this time?"

"I leave tomorrow. I still have a something I have to accomplish. Which reminds me. We're going to have a guest tomorrow with a dog. I know we don't normally accept pets, but this time we're going to make an exception. His room is free of charge and here's his card with his name on it. Make sure whoever's up here when he shows up tomorrow is expecting him."

"Brett Waterman. …Cadaver dog?" Adam was taken aback. "What do we need a cadaver dog for?" This was a shock.

"That's part of my project," Kate said. "So long as it doesn't snow someone else will be out late next week. I'm hoping to be here for them. There are three of them this time so they'll need two rooms. Put them on your list. If it doesn't work they may be back come summer when the ground is warmer."

"Thank you." Kate went out on the porch even though it was cold outside. She wanted to see just how warm this dress was. It was an authentic dress even though it was a silk reproduction. Even with heels the front of her dress was still too long. She'd accidentally tore the ruffle on the skirt when she stepped on it. If this kept up she was going to need a lot of these.

Now she was learning why Abigail had so many of them. It was a pity she was far taller than Abigail had been and a lot thinner or she might have been able to have them altered instead of looking for and buying her own. She decided to ship Abigail's gowns to her apartment so she could see about selling them. It would help defray the cost of her own new gowns.


	12. Chapter 12

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 12_

Kate spent the next few hours bringing the books up to date and checking to see how much money she still had for the month. She knew bills were coming and she had to pay the staff and pay for all the deliveries. The only money coming in was the money from the room rates that were charged to their guests.

Right now she was in the red and might stay there for this month. "Okay, so maybe all of Rick's money isn't going to go toward fixing the hot water problem." She sat there wondering just what to do. She still wasn't going to sell the place. She wasn't so stubborn that she couldn't recognize that she was happier here. She just had to make a deal with all this Christmas stuff. She even had Christmas stuff in her office.

Kate left her office and finds people lined up at the front desk trying to check in. This looked good, it looked really good. Kate decided to play greeter. She stood at the end after they got their keys and greeted them. She told them who she was and that she was the owner. If they had a problem to just ask one of the staff.

She didn't really know why they were all in period costumes so when someone asked why she said, "Because it was a magical time of year. Just like Christmas is."

Then someone asked if they really were haunted. "Some of the staff swear they have seen him. Maybe you'll get lucky," Kate smiled."Right Rick?" Kate felt a kiss on her cheek in response even though she never saw him. Her smile brightened considerably.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate had been on her feet all day checking on everyone and making sure everyone was happy. Only to find out that she needed to arrange yet another delivery. Like most upscale hotels they put out tiny bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and bar soap for hands and bath. They were running low. They were also running low on laundry detergent.

It meant more spending. "I'll get it done." Thankfully they had a name and company that had done it in the past.

Kate went to her office to make these two phone calls and arrange for a delivery to start in two days. She wrote new checks and got them in the mail to cover the costs.

"Cleaning." That had her back up and off to the housekeeping staff to find out what they used to clean everything and to see what they were going to need more of as well. They knew who but not how to contact them.

Kate grumbled on her way back down to her office that Abigail could have left something written that would help her, forgetting that she didn't know she was going to die in her sleep. Fortunately Abigail did have it all in her office; it just took some digging to find it all. Kate even found how they got their hardwood floors cleaned every month so that they shined so she arranged for that monthly.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate was tired and dragging by the time she slipped into her bedroom and closed and locked the door. "Oh, my aching feet." She took off one high heel and rubbed her foot followed by the other and let each shoe fall to the floor. "Next time I'm wearing tennis shoes. I'll just have to get my dress repaired."

Suddenly she heard Rick asking her to lay back on the bed. She didn't get it but she did it anyway and was soon moaning as he used his hands on her feet. "Where have you been all my life?" Kate closed her eyes and just let him work on her feet.

"Right here, actually," Rick replied.

Kate opened her eyes and looked down at him. "Sorry." She knew where he'd been but that wasn't why she had asked that question.

"Two weeks until Christmas," Rick reminded her. Two weeks today actually.

"I won't be here. I work that day so others with families can have the day off. The best I can hope for is the day after Christmas," Kate told him. "Why is Christmas so important? It's just another day." She was getting better at accepting Christmas but she still didn't plan to celebrate it.

"It's my one day when I'm not a ghost. Twenty-four hours when I get to be me," Rick explained, looking sad.

That had Kate sitting up and putting her feet under her. She shuffled her way to the end of the bed. "Does that mean when I kiss you I'll taste something? I'll get to smell you when I press my nose into you?" They hadn't yet had sex and now Kate was wondering if they did now would she taste his climax or would that be tasteless as well?

"I suppose. I just know that on Christmas Day I can smell things. Everything feels more real."

"You don't smell anything now?" Kate hadn't even considered that he couldn't. Just like she couldn't smell him.

Rick shook his head. "Dead, remember?"

"I wish you would stop saying that. You're not dead to me." Kate reached out to hold his head. She could touch him and feel him and hear him. Kate kissed him and slipped her tongue into his mouth; as expected she didn't taste him.

"It's too late to ask for the day off." She couldn't do anything about it now.

Kate needed to think. "I work the day and part of the night. The last train leaves at 7:00 pm. If I can find a ride I could be here by 10:00 pm. That would give us two hours." Kate thought about renting a car again, except it took her close to four hours last time and that was too long.

"Don't move." Kate got off the bed and left her room and left the door open to go to the front desk.

"If I take the 7:00 pm train on Christmas day I will need a volunteer to come get me. Can you two ask around? I'll do the same in the morning." Kate looked at them hopefully.

"You think you can be here Christmas Day? If you can do that I'll do it myself," she told Kate.

She had a name tag pinned to her period dress like everyone else did so Kate had a name. "I accept, Melody."

Kate ran back to her room and barely remembered to at least close the door before she threw herself at Rick. "I'll be here." Then she kissed him. They were going to have sex on Christmas day; she wanted to taste him so very badly.

"Now strip, we're taking a shower before going to bed. We're trying this sleeping stuff one more time." Kate wiggled out of her dress and hung it in her armoire. Turning around she was down to her bra and panties while Rick was just getting his pants off. She couldn't help it. Her eyes were on his bulge. It was also the most skin she had ever seen on a man in what felt like months or longer. Sorenson was actually her last; it had been that long.

Instead of letting him take them off himself Kate walked up to him and put her fingers under the waist band. Now naked she pulled him into the bathroom where she turned on the water and dragged him into the shower. But rather than showering she pressed herself up against him until he had an erection.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate was naked and dry and pressed up against Rick. One leg was between his so that his leg was almost rubbing up against her wet core. Her hands were held in close so she could put them on his chest.

They hadn't had sex in the shower though Kate had really wanted to. She did succumb to her desire to give him a blow job. She got to hear him moan, feel him hold her head in place, and almost force his cock down her open throat. His climax had been just like she had feared. She could feel it but she couldn't taste it.

"Rick." Kate looked in his eyes. "Do you touch yourself?" She had a reason for asking.

"May I ask why you want to know?" He was a gentleman and this just wasn't what a gentleman talked about. He wasn't even sure he'd been a gentleman when he'd let Kate do what she had done in the shower.

"I don't want you doing anything between now and when I get here for Christmas. We're going to be making love for two straight hours and I don't want you wearing yourself out before I get here. So please, I need you to promise." Her lonely nights back in her apartment had proven to her that she truly liked him and she was ready for the next step.

"It's been a long time." He didn't even remember who had been the last woman he'd had sex with. He was betting it was Kyra but just when, he had no idea. It really had been a very long time and since he was never going to have sex again it didn't really matter.

Kate moved her hand to silence him. "Just promise me," she asked him again.

"I promise," Rick vowed and she kissed him for it.

She smiled sleepily. "Good, now go to sleep. I have a long day tomorrow."

"You know I don't–" Kate silenced him with a finger.

"Sleep." She closed her eyes and dreamed about what sex with him was going to be like when she could taste him.

Rick watched over her like he always did since he didn't sleep. It was just part of the curse. He had all night to watch her and wonder what sex with her was going to be like. He'd seen most of her and she was beautiful everywhere. Why she didn't have a man escaped him. Surely someone had wanted her. She was far too beautiful to be alone.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Once again Kate woke up with Rick's eyes on her and while initially she smiled since she liked looking into his eyes, a frown soon formed. "You still didn't sleep, did you?" She didn't know why his sleeping was so important to her. It just was.

"I have a big day today. You're free to do as you please. Just don't scare our guests away." Kate gave him a quick kiss, gathered stuff out of her bag, and went into the bathroom.

She was dressed in blue jeans, a t-shirt, and a sweater since she was going to be spending sometime outside in the cold before leaving today. She just needed her tennis shoes.

Rick was dressed and gone. She found that she missed seeing him. She had something she needed to do today so she went to the front desk.

Kate didn't see Bailey walk up behind her. "I need a driver into town. I need something I can seal some papers into so that nothing can happen to them."

"I can call and ask Mom. She plans to take you back to the train station when you're ready to leave us again," Bailey said.

Kate heard two things. One was that she had a ride and the second was that Bailey was quietly complaining about her leaving again.

"Call her, please. Let me get my coat and I'll meet her out front if she can come now." Kate let her use her phone in her office to call her mom.

Bailey was back. "Mom said thirty minutes."

Kate thanked her. It gave her some time to check on the kitchen then over to the housekeeping service. Since she was going out she wanted to know if there was anything either of them wanted or needed.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"Sounds like what you're looking for is something that will be airtight. I have an idea for a place we can start with," Amelia said and drove toward downtown. She glanced at Kate. "How are you adjusting to small town life?"

"It's different. In New York I could probably find what I want easily. I have no trouble finding what I want to eat and taking it home with me. A lot of the city never sleeps. Even the guy I have coming out today is coming from New York City."

"It also has lots of things no one here misses. Taxis ruling the streets, red lights with jaywalkers everywhere, thousands of tourists clogging up everything," Amelia said mildly.

"I've heard it all, no sirens, no trash, no muggers, no drive-by shooters, less crime. I just haven't figured out which is better." Kate used her hands to demonstrate scales. Which side was heaver than the other and if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"How long have you lived in New York?" Amelia inquired.

"All my life. I was born there. Save for the one semester that I spent in Stanford."

"California, talk about a change. Warmer, sunnier, earthquakes. What got you out there? Bailey can't even see leaving Connecticut which I'll admit as a mother, I like." Amelia was happy to have her daughter close.

"Mom and Dad were lawyers. I had decided I wanted to be a lawyer. Stanford had a really good pre-law college and I wasn't afraid of being away from my parents. I was also a different person back then." She was still in her Rebel Becks phase and didn't know when it was going to end.

"So what made you change your mind to leave law school and become a detective?" They both worked with criminals, however, a lawyer didn't always mean criminals were involved.

"My mom died. I left law school and changed my focus." Kate really didn't want to tell her her entire life's history. She had shared just why with very few people. It had a lot to do with her hardened heart.

"I'm so sorry. That must have hurt badly. Were you two close?" If they were Amelia could see the sudden change.

"She was my best friend. We talked a lot. Of course we didn't see eye to eye in everything," Kate admitted.

"Let me guess, boyfriends," Amelia laughed since she had a daughter about the age Kate would have been when she went off to college.

Kate chuckled. "I think I picked some of them just to get a rise out of my parents. Looking back on what I did, I'm really lucky I didn't end up pregnant. Not that I didn't have a scare that scared the crap out of me and got me to stop. God, if I had ended up pregnant…" She shook her head. Her life would be very, very different.

"A sobering experience. …Here we are, our first stop." Amelia parked and went inside with Kate to help her look.

"How big does it need to be?" That might help her find what Kate is after.

"Roughly 3 inches by 7 inches," Kate said as she looked around.

"That's small. Really small that can be sealed tight. Sounds like Rubbermaid to me." Amelia left Kate and went to the kitchen area.

Amelia had some and went looking for Kate. She showed it to Kate. "What about this? It seals, it's bigger than what you need but it'll work, I think. If it's not tight enough just wrap a lot of packing tape around it. They have that here, too."

"That should be fine. Do they have some Styrofoam or something to fill in the empty space so it doesn't shift around a lot?" Kate didn't need for the bills to end up bent, dented, holed, or even creased.

"Fake flowers. They have to stick those things into something," Amelia said.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate had thanked Amelia for the ride and was asked when her train left. "I'll be here at 3 pm then, just in case."

She had her container, tape, and Styrofoam and was in her room putting it all together. She actually had two containers, one for each auction house.

Kate looked over each and every bill and was amazed that two of them were five thousand dollar bills. She'd never heard of such a thing. All of them looked in pretty good condition to her.

After sealing the first one she tested it to see just how much the bills moved if she moved it or shook it. Satisfied, she got to work on the second one. She just finished her second one when there was a knock at her door.

"Your man with the dog is here."

Kate put her two containers in her armoire next to her bag and grabbed her coat.

"Mr. Waterman." Kate shook his hand and let his dog sniff her. "A beagle." Not really the dog she was expecting to see. A blood hound had come to mind or maybe a German Shepard.

"Riley, here, is perfect for the job. Most dogs have anywhere between 100 to 1,000 times more sensitive noses than we do. A beagle's olfactory lobe in the brain is about 40 times larger than a human. All of a beagle's scent membranes would unfold to 60 sq. in. His scent receptors number about 225 million. Only a blood hound has more. However, a blood hound isn't really suited for this type of work. If there's something out there Riley will find it." Brett was proud of his little dog.

"In some ways I was afraid you would say that. So as much as a dead squirrel or where someone buried their dead pet." Kate had been afraid of that but she had a plan.

"Riley will find those, too, I admit. Until you dig it up you won't know," Brett warned her.

"He needs a room and I'll let you get settled for a moment and meet you back down here." Kate told the front desk and Brett then went to her room. She'd forgotten to gather up something from her bag that she'd brought with her.

"We go everywhere from one end of the property to the other. I've got these for you to plant if you find something." Kate held out her American flags on metal stakes for him to stick in the ground. "I'll arranged to have each and everyone of them dug up if I have to." Brett took them and put them in a coat pocket. "Once you're done you can go into town if you wish. If you still have Christmas shopping to do you've come to the right place."

"No offense, but that's why I responded so quickly. My wife wants something specific and if I or Santa Claus don't give it to her, we're both in big trouble." Brett laughed at himself.

"If it exists, it's here and our chef is actually pretty good. He's got a special today that he's trying to see if it should be added to the menu. So use your best judgment." Kate hadn't tried it yet.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate watched for a while. When she'd seen enough she went back inside.

Brett and Riley were done when 3:00 pm rolled around and she met him at the front desk where Amelia was waiting and talking with him and petting Riley.

"I used 10 of your 12 flags so I wish you luck. Riley hit a few easily so probably just a dead squirrel or some other small animal. One was more of a mystery for him. Here's your map." Brett handed over his rough map he had made for her.

"This is the one I would start with if I was you. Riley had a lot of trouble with that one based on what you've told me."

_TEN! _Yeah, she had her work cut out for her. If she was lucky maybe she only needed just the one. She'd already kissed Rick good-bye and told him she would be back.

"Bailey tells me you're back on Christmas Day rather late in the day. I volunteered to come get you so you can expect to see me," Amelia said, smiling.

"Thank you." Kate was suddenly looking forward to Christmas and it actually had a lot to do with Christmas. Rick was going to be alive Christmas day and she was looking forward to that more than she could say.


	13. Chapter 13

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 13_

Kate watched the playback that Ryan had started and already watched several times before she showed up. "There's our guy, I see a gun."

The playback continued for a few minutes. "That's an apartment but where? Ryan, can you back it up a bit I thought I saw something." Kate asked.

"Stop right there out the window." Kate focused on what was in the background, not the foreground.

"That's classic Upper West Side architecture," Ryan said as he tilted his head to get a different perspective of the building.

"Take a picture of this then send it to the precinct. See if any of the beat cops can recognize it." Kate watched as he used his phone to take a picture and send it.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"We got an ID on the building. 79th and Amsterdam." Ryan was actually amazed if came back so soon.

Kate nodded. "Tell Lanie we can meet her there."

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"The door was unlocked. So either he left it that way, the killer left it that way, or…" Ryan trailed off.

"Okay, have officers ask everyone in the building what they know about him and who they've seen recently," Kate asked and put on her gloves.

"Lanie, what have we got?" Lanie was in the one man tent that was in the living room surrounded by fake snow with a fan to blow it around.

"One round to the face. Large caliber round," Lanie said.

"A round to the face typically means the shooter wanted to remove his face. Very personal," Kate explained.

"Looks like you were right about our guy being a squirrel. Look what we found in an air vent." Espo showed her a shoe box.

Kate took out three different passports from three different countries. "Each with a different name, so different IDs. Someone our killer likely knows about," Kate mused.

"Fingerprints, Lanie. We need to find out what his name really is. Let's bag everything," Kate said with a sigh. There was a lot of stuff here to go through later.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate had something she needed to do today, though. "Hi, I'm Kate Beckett. I have something that needs to be added to your next auction. I'm expected."

"One moment, please." She made a call. "Mr. Cessna will be with you in a moment." Kate grinned again. Someone had a name after an aircraft manufacturer. She was betting he had a tough time as a kid.

Eventually a clean-cut and well-dressed man, maybe just older than she was, came out. "Ms. Beckett." He shook Kate's hand. "If you will follow me, please." He took her past the receptionist and into a nearby conference room.

There were two people already in the room then another soon joined them.

"It looks like you've made sure they're in good shape." He took Kate's container from her. "We're going to need scissors or a knife," he stated. Kate watched as one of them left and soon returned with both.

Soon they had the case open and all four bills were lying on the table while everyone but her was wearing gloves. "Confederate notes. These are pre-1864. These are really rare." He liked what he was looking at.

"May we ask where you got them?" one of them inquired.

"My aunt left them to me after she passed away. She didn't leave anything telling me where she got them from." It was just a little white lie since her aunt was, indeed, involved.

Kate watched as he turned each of them over to see the other side. "We will need to authenticate that these bills are, in fact, authentic. Forgive me but there are a lot of fake bills out there. Not unlike a counterfeiter will do with today's dollars. It happens. I'm not saying that you're a counterfeiter only that we need to be certain that these aren't counterfeit. We can accomplish this today with the time allotted to us."

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate left the auction house with a photo of what she'd left behind as well as a receipt for what she had left, who she'd left it with, and when. She would get confirmation tomorrow if her bills would be part of their auction on December 26 here in New York City.

An hour later and she was entering the next auction house just before it was going to close. One hour later after they had officially closed she was leaving with the same thing from them with basically the same story. They, too, needed to certify that the bills were authentic. She would find out tomorrow what they'd learned then they would be part of their auction in New York City on January 1, 2012.

Neither of them gave her any idea what she could expect them to be sold for. Until they authenticated them they wouldn't even tell her what they would place the minimum bid at since she'd left it to them.

Now she was home and doing without dinner since she had gone to the auction houses instead of eating. It wasn't really anything new to her. She'd done this a number of times.

Like last night she just couldn't get to sleep. No matter how she tried or what position she was in, nothing really helped. She was alone in bed again and she just couldn't seem to get past it.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

She walked into her empty apartment all alone again after dropping off Rick's Confederate bills at both auction houses. She was left with four more bills wrapped up in the same type of container with lots of tape. What she didn't know was what to do with them. She just knew to keep them until after the actions were both done.

After doing her routine to get ready for bed she stood there looking at her bed. She really didn't want to get into her own bed. At least not alone.

She was good at her job and she knew it had never really been that much fun. It was a job, a means to an end. Right now that end wasn't nearly as attractive as it had used to be.

A year of therapy had taught her to let go or it was going to kill her or worse, drive her mad. Kate sat on her bed. "I get it Abigail, I get it. I just wish it was that simple." She had three friends here or four if she counted Roy as being one of them. At the inn she had…. Kate ran out of fingers before she ran out of people. She was now even including Bailey's mom as a potential friend.

"I have to solve who killed Rick first." Her job might be to find who killed the victims of her cases. Now she needed her connections to find a killer long ago. A cold case of epic proportions with no one alive to talk to. No one to interrogate and so far not a shred of evidence to work with.

All she had at the moment was 10 American flags in the ground. Rick was going to be gone at the end of December for eleven long months. She wasn't going to be able to ask him any questions if she found something and needed to know what he knew. But she might not know much if anything until after December.

Kate bent over and cradled her head in her hands. Why did everything have to be so damn complicated?

She wanted to find someone that she could just jump in and love and have him love her back. She really did. Someone that wouldn't break her heart again. It had taken enough hits already.

"SO WHY AM I FALLING IN LOVE WITH A DEAD MAN? ANSWER ME THAT ONE!" Kate yelled into her empty room. Because she was. God help her but she was. And what if she figured out who killed him and found his dead body? What if he just up and disappeared on her then?

Abigail had said it was out of their hands. "But I don't want it out of my hands, damn it!" She was in too deep and didn't know what to do about it.

Actually that was a lie. She knew exactly what to do. It was just that it scared the hell out of her.

"You better be there to catch me, Rick. You better fucking be there." Kate laid down in her bed, rolled over, and allowed sleep to take her.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

First thing in the precinct next morning she found Roy in his office and knocked on his door. "Got a minute, sir?"

"What's on your mind, Beckett?" If it was easy he would do it. He owed it to her to get her anything she needed.

"I know I volunteered to work Christmas Eve and Christmas day. What I need is a week off after that. All the way to January first. I… It's really personal, sir." More personal than she was ever going to be able to explain.

"Do you have any idea how many weeks of vacation you have, Beckett?" Roy asked with a voice that sounded like her request was already dead.

"No, sir." She actually hadn't cared enough to keep track. She didn't need days off to take the time to question what she was doing with her life. Work kept her mind off of all of it. The longer and harder she worked the better.

"Neither do I." He knew it was more than three and that was after the previous week she had asked off. He was just glad she'd finally come to her senses and had taken a week off. Now she wanted another one so soon.

"Request granted. We'll just have to figure out how to survive without you for another week." Roy said then suddenly smiled at her.

"I… Thank you, sir." She would have settled for one day. She'd asked for a week then offered a few days back so she could at least get the one day.

"How is the case going?" Roy got back to work.

Kate took a moment to switch gears. "A fake trip to the North Pole that several schools paid for thinking it's the real thing. Fifty thousand doesn't sound worth killing for." Granted Kate knew people had killed for a lot less. "We still haven't figured out his real name. He had multiple passports with different names. He definitely isn't who he wants people to think he is. Just what's the point of making all those kids happy?" Kate knew she was missing something. Maybe a lot of somethings.

"Keep me apprised." Roy asked and went back to his never ending paperwork.

"Yes, sir." Kate went to her desk and found several containers filled with stuff waiting for her.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"This isn't about Sanchez, it's about him. Stephen Fletcher also known as Stephen Miles." Kate slid the only picture she had of him in his parka across the table so she could see him.

"Are you arresting me?" Ms. Shultz asked Kate.

"Why would we arrest you?" Kate didn't see why.

"Because I killed him," Ms. Shultz answered. "I meditate each day with my cats. Doctor's orders. Each day I imagine killing this son of a bitch."

"And how exactly did you kill him?" Kate inquired.

"With a belt sander." Ms. Shultz thought it was perfect for him. Sand him into dust.

"We're done here." Kate packed up her things and stood up.

"Can I see his body?" Ms. Shultz asked eagerly as Kate opened the door.

"Um…no." Kate left her and was back to square one.

"Our guy's stock just went up. We found that he was recently engaged to one Elise Finnigan. Her family owns half of Park Avenue South," Espo reported.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"What you got?" Roy stopped at Kate's desk and Espo put down a box filled with pizza.

"Still trying to find something but it looks like our guy was a career overachiever," Kate told him.

Ryan spun around in his chair. "I got something. You know those Nigerian scams?"

"Don't tell me he ran one of those!" Kate rolled her eyes.

"Nope, looks like our guy ran a counter scam on him and got ten grand from him." Espo whistled and Roy smiled.

"Don't sound so impressed," Kate frowned. "Our guy was a habitual con artist. He stole money from people."

"We have gun registrations for one Jerry Finnigan. Same caliber weapon as whoever killed our vic." Ryan raised his hand for a high five.

"Shut the front door!" Kate loved that piece of information.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"He said that he would sign a prenup. Sign himself out of everything. The only reason he was still conning the schools was for the kids. That's why he answered all of their letters.

"Yes, he's a liar, but if he signs it does that make him a liar and a con trying to get my daughter's money?" Finnigan questioned Kate.

"Your private investigator. Did he take any pictures?" Kate asked him.

"Yes, a lot of them. But I didn't want them. I didn't want Elise to find them and yell at me for trying to ruin her marriage. She's convinced that she loves him," Finnigan replied.

"He just might have a picture of our killer." It was a long shot but worth looking into.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"Hello, Mr. Fletcher." Kate had a picture of a first grade teacher talking to their vic. "When was this taken?" Kate asked the private investigator who came in with every picture he had.

"Ten days ago." He knew each and every picture. That was his job.

"When our vic was supposedly at the North Pole." Kate smiled since she now had a new lead.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"Okay, yes, I knew he was faking it. But he was teaching the kids and they were soaking it up. The kids loved him and he answered their written questions. That wasn't me. Have you asked his partner?" the first grade teacher asked her.

"Partner?" This was new.

"She's in that picture. …Right there." He pointed at her sitting inside the restaurant they were standing outside of.

After he blew it up on the overhead, Kate said, "That's Elise Finnigan. His supposed fiancée." Just what the hell was going on here?

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"Help me out here, Elise. First you deny that he's a con then I find a picture of you at one of his payoffs for a different scam." Kate stood in front of her.

"That's not what it was." Elise walked away.

Kate walked after her. "Elise, the man you think you love is dead. I'm trying to find his killer. So help me."

"CIA!?" Kate couldn't believe just how stupid this woman really was. "What part of being a CIA operative has to do with conning little kids?" Kate just knew this was going to be good.

"Next thing you're going to tell me is that the grade school teacher is also with the CIA." Kate had about heard enough of this shit.

"He is. Think about it. Some of those kids are the children of diplomats," Elise replied, convinced that her fiancé wasn't a con man after her money.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"We don't need to know where a man that's supposedly dead is now, or is going, or how he's going to get there. All roads lead to Elise. We find Elise and we find our killer," Kate said. "I want eyes on Elise, now."

"Got her, National Bank and Trust. She's not alone and it's not our dead guy," Espo called out which had all three of them running for their cars.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate tapped the glass of Sue's car as she opened the case and found nothing but newspapers.

"Newspapers. I'll be happy to tell them of your support for all their hard work," Kate said though the glass.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"It really was a con. His partner killed him too soon for reasons only she knows. A million isn't a lot given how much Elise is worth, but it's better than nothing," Kate commented as they all sat in the bullpen with Roy.

Ryan pressed play on Sue's computer that had Fletcher's voice saying anything she wanted it to.

"I do feel sorry for Elise. She fell hook, line, and sinker for his con. With Sue's help since she selected Elise for the con and set him up," Kate remarked.

"You don't think he actually fell for Elise and the kids? Changed his spots and changed his ways?" Espo suggested.

"No, he's like the guy who beats his wife and finally gets caught. But his wife loves him because she's been programmed by him so he goes back to beating her until one day he finally kills her. People like him don't change," Kate said and smacked her hand on the table.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"Hi, Dad." Kate was glad that he answered her call, not because she was afraid he wouldn't. It was just because she had a question and she didn't know how he was going to take it.

"If you're calling about the information you wanted I've found a few things but I'm not sure any of it's useful." He had at least found the import export business and the family that owned it.

"No, you can keep looking and tell me what you have found when you think you can't find anything else. I have something else to ask you." Kate had gotten this far but her nerve was fading fast.

"Okay, so what's on your mind?" Jim was curious now.

"What do you plan on doing for Christmas?" She was betting the same as always.

"What I always do. I thought you were working Christmas as usual?" Jim queried, wondering just where this was going.

"I am working Christmas. But immediately after that I have the week off and I'm going to spend it at the inn. I wanted to know if you wanted to join me there for at least a day. The inn's at 100% capacity that week but I can find you something. You can have my room and I'll find a place to put a roll-away. You really should see this place at least once." There, Kate had asked him.

"Two days, one night." Jim thought about it. He was interested in what had finally gotten his daughter's attention away from chasing who killed her mother and away from the dark life of being a homicide detective. He'd seen the difference in her since she got that job.

Just listening to her now she sounded better. "How about the night of December 31? Be there the 31st and the 1st of January?" Jim offered as he tried to remember what he had going on.

"I'll take it," Kate said quickly. "I'll send you something on what train to take and arrange for someone to come get you and take you back to the train station. …Thanks, Dad." She wanted to show him a lot.

"I'm looking forward to seeing this inn of yours since you've decided to keep it." Jim changed the subject. "How did your meeting with the auction house go?"

"Pretty well, actually. I should be finding out if the bills Abigail left me are authentic. They seemed to be very impressed that they were pre-1864 which is apparently the date for most of the bills. So I guess we'll see." Kate still had no idea what they were worth.

"Well, I wish you luck and I'll see you on the 31st. I'm looking forward to seeing this inn of yours." Jim ended the call.

"Yeah, the inn and maybe Rick," Kate told herself.


	14. Chapter 14

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 14_

Kate couldn't get out of the precinct fast enough. She'd even brought a suitcase with her and left it stored under her desk. It restricted where she could put her legs but she didn't care. She shut down her computer, picked up her suitcase, and was in the elevator 20 minutes early.

If she got a call that there was a body she would simply tell them she was on vacation. They would have to call her replacement. No one called her cell phone during her taxi ride to the train station. She was technically 30 minutes early but she still ran to where the train would be waiting for her. She had, after all, done this a few times. Though she did check the board to make sure she was headed the right way.

Her suitcase was in storage and her carry-on bag was with her as she sat there and willed for the train to get going. If it left on time and the drive to the inn was uneventful she might have close to 3 hours before midnight.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate saw a waving hand and went toward who was waving while smiling the entire way. "Judith, I wasn't expecting to see you." Kate was just happy someone was there.

"Well, if we're on time I only have about another hour until my night shift at the desk so I volunteered." It was no big deal.

Kate smiled. "I'm happy to see you and in your work clothes." Judith was dressed for work.

"They kind of wear on you. You just wait until summer rolls around. Some of these dresses can give you heatstroke." Judith laughed at herself. "So how long are you here this time?"

"A whole week. I don't leave until January 2nd of next year. …Next year. Makes it sound a lot longer than it really is," Kate said.

"That's going to make a lot of people happy." She happened to be one of them.

"I talked my dad into coming out on the 31st. He might be leaving with me. I just have to figure out where to put him. One of us might be sleeping on a roll-away in the mechanical room." Kate chuckled since it was just possible she would be sleeping there.

"We'll think of something. Conference room at the very least. Something will come up." Judith tried to think positive. "Hey, maybe our ghost can solve the problem. Force someone out of their room." Judith laughed and got Kate to join her.

It also gave Kate an evil idea. However, she couldn't do that. Not to her guests and not to Rick. She would think of something else.

"Why are we going around downtown Holly?" Normally they went straight through town to reach the inn.

"During Christmas the street's full of tents that vendors have put up. Lots of it are homemade things that you can't get anywhere or any other time. Most of it are things but some of it's food and drink. Hot drinks are very popular. Even the ones that have a little something extra in them, if you take my meaning," Judith explained.

"My kind of drink." Kate was sorry she was going to miss it. It was just that she had other plans and a different kind of drink.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"Thanks for the ride." Kate grabbed her bags, hustled to her bedroom, and unlocked the door. She slammed the door behind her and closed then locked it.

"Rick, get in here," Kate called out. She saw him standing at the end of the bed and in front of the fireplace. "Strip!" There was no time to waste. They had maybe 2-1/2 hours until midnight.

Kate didn't wait for him. She walked over to him and began unbuttoning the buttons of his vest. "Why do you wear so many clothes?" This was going to take forever! Instead of finishing what she had started she lifted up a little, since she was in heels, and kissed him. Kate pressed the kiss into something far more passionate and used her tongue to search his mouth. She was finally rewarded with his taste. She moaned into the kiss since he finally tasted like someone.

"We need to get this off." Kate went back to unbuttoning his buttons to get him naked.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Rick was sitting naked on the floor with his back to the bed though he had taken a little of the sheet with him. Kate was lying naked crossways on the bed on her back, staring up at the ceiling.

Kate had never had this much sex in one night before. She was happy, tired, and beyond satisfied. She had gotten to taste everything that made Rick, Rick.

Rick knew he wasn't a virgin but Kate was really something else. It was the only time of the year when he got to taste things. So he had stolen a few things in the kitchen and eaten them even if he wasn't really hungry and was never going to be hungry.

However, it also meant that he got to taste Kate. All of Kate. He'd also learned that Kate was rather vocal during sex. Not so much that she screamed, since she hadn't. But that didn't mean she was quiet, either. Anything but, actually.

Kate found the strength to roll over and run a hand through his hair. He tilted his head back to let her reach anywhere on his head that she pleased.

"What am I going to do once you're gone? I won't be able to touch you, see you, or even hear you, let alone this." Eleven months without him was going to be hell.

"I'll be here. I'll always be here. Trapped and cursed, remember?"

"Will you please stop saying that?" She didn't want him trapped or cursed.

Rick found that his legs did indeed work as he got up and got up onto the bed and Kate moved with him.

"I'll be able to hear and see everything you do. I might even turn into a peeping Tom," Rick teased her which got Kate to burst out laughing.

Kate kissed him deeply and realized that most of his taste was already gone. She looked at the clock. It was a quarter after which meant almost 3 hours of non-stop sex. It was a record for her, as were the number of orgasms Rick had managed to pull out of her. Even Rick, she was sure, had climaxed three times.

"Rick, what's going to happen?" Kate was suddenly in serious mode since her heart was involved. This place and Rick had made it to her heart. "If or when I figure out who killed you and I find your body, what happens then?"

Rick pulled Kate closer to him and slipped his leg between her legs and found two wet spots. One was on the bed and one was between her legs. "I'll be here. I want to be here. I need to be here. I'll yell, I'll scream, I'll even fight to be here."

Kate couldn't resist moving her body a little so that her core rubbed against his leg. She also placed her hand on his face and looked him in the eye. "I know it's fast and I don't know how, but I'm falling in love with you. If I solve everything and never see you again it's going to hurt." Kate knew her tears were starting.

Rick raised his hand to brush them away. "I don't really know what will happen, but I want to be here. I do. You know you could just leave it like it is now. One month every…" Rick stopped talking when her hand covered his lips.

"No, it's all of you or none of you. I'm not leaving you like this. There's a lot out there and I want you to see it. To live it and not just on TV." Maybe falling in love with him was a bit too little. She wasn't falling in love with him, she already was in love with him. And this inn.

"For a long time I've wanted to find someone to love and love me back. To just jump and know that that person will catch me and love me." Kate stroked his face.

"You've come to the right place then. I'll be happy to love you for the rest of both of our lives no matter what happens," Rick told her and got Kate to kiss him for it.

Then Rick pulled his head back. "Did I just propose?" It almost sounded like he did to him. It wasn't how he ever envisioned proposing to a lady, but this might pass for one.

Kate began laughing as she replayed what he'd just said in her mind. "You do it the right way, down on one knee with a ring in your hand, and I just might say yes." Kate kissed him again.

"Well until that time comes." Rick reached down and pressed a finger inside her and Kate gasped. He'd recovered some of his energy. It was time to see if Kate had recovered enough of hers.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate talked Rick into joining her in the shower. He had after all worked up quite a sweat and she wanted him clean. Naturally she cleaned all of him.

She was in her new period dress that she had found at a different store. This one wasn't quite the same as the other one, but she was trying not to end up wearing ball gowns that she couldn't even get through the door in.

It was shoulderless with lace across the top that was pulled tight. It had a built-in corset that she had to ask Rick to lace her up from behind. "Not that tight, Rick. I'd like to be able to breathe." He had pulled just a bit much.

"Sorry." Rick loosened it a little then finished.

It was mostly white with blue flowers and more lace on the end of the short sleeves. Since she was going to be standing all day she went with the tennis shoes this time.

"What do you think?" Kate twirled in place. She actually wanted to feel gorgeous and for him to like what she was wearing.

"As beautiful as ever. I look forward to taking it off of you later," Rick grinned at her.

"You think you'll get to do that, do you?" Now that he'd offered she wasn't planning to take it off until he took it off her and made love to her again tonight.

"Don't forget. Haunt, not scare them to death. You have less than a week to make a name for yourself," Kate reminded him.

"Got it." And with that Rick vanished.

Kate thought about calling him back and telling him that her dad was going to be here in a few days. Then she thought about just shocking him about his arrival. She was even thinking of getting her dad in this room and then calling for Rick and presenting him to her dad. He was effectively her new boyfriend. He just happened to be a dead boyfriend.

"My life gets any more complicated and I'm going to shoot myself," Kate muttered and left her room to start the day.

The staff soon saw Kate in her new gown and loved it.

"What's with the flags?" Shawn asked her since there were a few of them spread out all over.

"No one touches them. Got it? No one!" Yes, she had a map but she needed those flags.

Shawn glanced out the window. "Here's hoping they're in the ground really good because it's snowing."

"No!" Kate went to the doors and looked outside. Sure enough it was snowing. It wasn't hard and it really wasn't sticking but she was thinking that the dig sites might have to be dug up like one of those dinosaur digs. Carefully using tiny tools and brushes. She needed his bones as intact and undamaged as she could get them. That meant using a backhoe to dig him up might cause damage so that was out.

She didn't know how he had died and neither did Rick, so she needed any body she found intact and undamaged. It was December so digging in any of these locations may have to wait until it was warmer. That might mean four months or longer.

"You don't like snow?" Kate was asked.

"NO. It meant someone, usually me when I was younger, had to shovel the damn stuff. Now I have to drive in it and not end up in a fender bender. I could live without snow, thank you very much. I'll take a beach over snow any day."

"So you're a beach bikini girl?" Shawn teased.

"I can't tease a guy dressed like this." Kate swiped her hands down her gown and went back to watching it snow.

"You can't make snow angels, have snowball fights, or go skiing on a beach," he argued.

"Good point." She did like to do all three of those or at least had liked to do them when she was younger.

Just then a woman came racing down the stairs. She almost stumbled and fell down them. She stopped at the front desk and tried to talk but mostly just did a lot of pointing.

Kate was next to her. "Is someone hurt?" Kate asked since that meant calling 911. Only she shook her head. "Is something wrong with your room?" At least that meant maintenance that she had. The woman nodded her head.

"Call maintenance," Kate told Shawn. "Take me to your room." Kate guided her toward the stairs.

Kate got taken to the second floor, toward the front that overlooked the fountain. Inside the room she found the lady's husband who looked a lot more calm. "What's the problem?" Kate asked him since his wife was still basically speechless.

He wanted to say his wife, but that would get him into trouble. Instead he took her over to their window that overlooked the fountain. "It's gone now but it sort of just frosted over and then we watched as a smiley face was drawn into that," her husband explained.

Kate tried to swallow a snort of a laugh. "Our ghost. He's harmless so don't worry about him. We do have another room available at the moment if you'd like to change rooms," Kate offered.

"A ghost!" The wife had found her voice.

"He likes to have a little fun from time to time. He really is harmless. He's just having a little fun. If you were a ghost what would you do?"

"Haunt someone else," the wife said flatly.

"I can move you if you like. However, he is a ghost so he has full run of the inn. He's had a little fun with the staff as well in the past. I can assure you he truly is harmless. We do advertise as being haunted in case you hadn't noticed," Kate reminded them.

"We knew, we just didn't think… I mean, my wife didn't think… We'll survive," the husband said just as a maintenance man walked in after finding the room without knowing just which room.

"False alarm. Thanks for responding, Kershaw." Kate saw him smile and leave.

"My offer still stands. Maybe next time you can ask him to draw something else." Kate smiled at both of them and left them to talk with each other.

Kate was smiling all the way to her room and closed the door. "Rick." She wasn't angry at him. He was doing what she asked him to do.

Rick showed up. "Sorry, it sounded funny at the time." But instead of her yelling at him she kissed him.

"We might end up on 60 minutes if you keep this up. Can you only do this in December?" If he could do it the rest of the year they just might make it.

Rick shook his head. "Cursed… Sorry." She had asked him to stop saying that.

"It's okay. Just keep it up as long as you can. We'll just keep explaining it away." Kate kissed him again before going back to the front desk.

"Just our ghost having a little fun," Kate smiled.

"He's never had this much fun before. Not until you showed up," Shawn said.

"You never know, maybe I'm the one that's cursed and not the inn." Kate smiled at them and went to the kitchen to check on how things were going in there.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate spent the rest of the day looking at the books, trying to figure out if she was going to have enough money. Most of it depended on just how much was brought in. It was looking like they normally made a decent profit, part of which was her paycheck. Since she had a job she didn't need a paycheck from here so if she skipped that and put it back into the inn, she was looking pretty good.

Checking her email showed that she had one from the ground radar team that she had hired to tow their machine everywhere on the site that they could. They apologized but thanks to the weather she was better off waiting until the ground thawed. Meaning months from now.

"SHIT!" Kate shoved her keyboard away and suddenly there were hands on her shoulders massaging her muscles. There was only one person that would dare, still she took a quick peek then tried to relax.

"I'm trying to find your body but the ground's too hard. The cadaver dog gave me some spots to look, but I can't dig in this weather. Now the ground radar tech wants to wait until late spring." Kate felt defeated.

"I'm not going anywhere. It's not like someone's going to dig me up and move me," Rick argued.

"I know, but I need to solve this and I don't do well with waiting." It was one of her faults.

"You've done what you can. …Come to bed." Rick kissed the top of her head.

That had Kate smiling. "You just want to take advantage of me." She was looking forward to another round of sex. Or two, or three, or more.

"You started it," Rick countered. "I'm only being a gentleman and giving the woman I care about what she wants."

Kate spun around and stood up so she could put her arms around his neck. "In that case, we've already made passionate love. Now I want you to fuck me. I expect to find you naked in our room by the time I get there. I might even let you take this dress off me if you're a good boy then shove me onto the bed and take me from behind." Kate kissed him and then suddenly she was kissing the air.

"I wish I could do that." He was cheating since she had to walk all the way there.


	15. Chapter 15

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 15_

_Sunday December 27_

Kate opened her eyes and smiled. Right in front of her was Rick; his eyes were open and he was watching her. "Still creepy, Rick." However, instead of admonishing him further for watching her sleep all night she reached out to kiss him.

"Maybe to you, but I'm going to be right here until next December, watching," Rick promised.

Kate decided that that was sweet. As long as she didn't see him watching her she could handle that. "So how awake are you?" she grinned and reached down to take him in her hand. With just a little work he had a partial erection which was enough to keep her going.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate was clean, dry, and ecstatically happy as she stood there and let Rick lace up her corset again since she was going to wear the same dress as yesterday.

"How's that?" Rick just needed to put a bow in it to hold it closed.

Kate took a deep breath to see if she could get enough air. "It'll work, thanks." If she didn't get Rick to do it she was going to have to have one of the ladies do it for her.

Once he was done Kate twisted, took his head in her hands, and kissed him. "Have fun." Wearing her tennis shoes she unlocked the door and headed out another busy day awaiting her.

The mornings, she learned, dealt mostly with guests in the inn, coming down to find out where to go and what there was to see. The ladies or the lone guy that worked the front desk were capable of answering their questions so Kate just watched.

As part of what was turning into her normal routine she walked the entire inn to check on how things were looking. She made sure everything looked clean and fresh. Any pillow that looked out of place got moved and any stray piece of trash got picked up. Since everyone, including her, had a name attached to their outfit she called each of them by name.

She was even starting to learn them. A few that she normally met and talked with were getting easier. "Bailey!" Kate smiled as she watched the young lady walk in wearing her outfit.

"Hi, Kate." However, Bailey stopped her and Kate found herself being looked at closely.

"Something wrong?" Kate had looked at herself in the mirror earlier and her makeup looked good to her.

"Something's different." Bailey couldn't quite put her finger on it. Kate was one of the most lovely women she had ever met. She was certainly one of the taller ones thanks to those legs of hers. Kate's hair looked the same and she was smiling though she had been doing that a lot lately. It was something.

Then she thought she had it. "You've finally come to the realization that you like it here."

Kate fought to keep her smile from breaking her face. Thanks to Rick she wasn't learning to like it here, she was learning to love it here. "I still have to go back and work at my other job. I have to finish something before I can stay here longer and that might not be until summer."

"Is it that important?" What could possibly be that important?

"It's very important. Life and death kind of important. Don't worry I'll solve it." Kate decided to hug her since she was learning to really like this young woman. "Have a good day, Bailey."

"You too, Kate." They both went their own ways.

Kate made it back to the front desk and was standing at the front doors looking out. "Is it my imagination or does it look colder out there today?"

"Today's high is supposed to be 41 degrees while tonight's low is going to stay in the low 20s. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, too. Then if it gets cold enough the rain will either turn into snow or sleet and cover everything with ice," Melody said.

"Brrrr," Kate shivered.

"December's just a warm up for January. You want cold wait until next month." Hearing that didn't help Kate feel any warmer.

"Great and my dad's coming out here in a few days." Being frozen in inside an inn wasn't what she had in mind when getting him to come visit.

"The trains aren't normally affected by the weather. Now the roads between here and there can sometimes be a little more tricky. It's not January yet so he should be fine. Just remind him to bring a heavy coat.

"And pray that a weather system doesn't blow in off the water. We lost electricity for a week one year thanks to all the ice," Adam said, shaking his head at the memory.

"Are we scaring you?" Melody asked. They didn't want Kate to run away.

"If I've survived Christmas so far I can handle a little weather. Which reminds me. I need to find out just how much home heating oil we have left and when the next truck is going to show up." Kate left them and went to the mechanical room. Thankfully she didn't have to go outside to reach it.

Franklin explained that that big bump in the parking lot was the partially buried oil tank and last they had checked it was about half full. The next truck to fill their tank was in less than 2 weeks.

Kate was still in the mechanical room when someone found her. "You have someone at the front desk."

"Me?" Kate didn't remember anyone coming. She didn't have anything scheduled so who could this be? Curious, she followed her back to the front desk where she saw someone standing there with a big flat case in hand.

Kate stopped in front of him. "How can I help you?"

"I'm David Murphy. David Murphy Architects. Is this a good time for you?" He knew it was Sunday and his office was technically closed today but he was willing to take a risk.

"I suppose." Kate didn't get it. She didn't need an architect. "What are you here for?"

"I was approached to come up with a couple of sketches for a possible renovation to your private quarters. Someone here, or I'm guessing a lot of someones, think your room is too small and you need more space. I was paid just enough to come up with a couple of rough sketches for you to see."

That had Kate turning her head to look at the three of her staff that were still in view and glared at them for this. All they did was smile back at her.

"Do you have a large table we can use somewhere?" David inquired politely. Depending on which plan she liked meant more money to his office.

"Conference room, I suppose." Kate lead him to the smaller of the two conference rooms. Neither of them were going to be used until later in January. Kate glared at everyone that worked here along the way. She was going to get them for this.

Kate flipped on the lights and he zipped open his large flat case, took out two large boards, and put them on the table one at a time. "These are just rough sketches. To do a true design I will need to send a team to gather measurements. All I was given was a rough sketch and a few pictures," David warned her.

"Right now your space consists of a large bedroom with a wood burning fireplace and a large bathroom with no closet. Each of these sketches means taking over an adjoining janitors closet that will need to be relocated somewhere as well as an adjoining storage room.

"Now just how the roof is structured will tell us which of these sketches will work best. That or a totally different design," David told her and Kate began looking at each of them. Both were similar though each was a little different.

"Obviously the fireplace has to stay and the bathroom needs to stay. Both to help reduce costs. The primary challenge is getting light into any of these spaces. The only outside wall you have available looks out onto the back parking lot.

"We turn your bedroom into a living room with a dining room. Modify the entrance location a little. Move your bedroom out here along with a small kitchen, almost calling it a kitchenette. It's intended to allow any children to get something to eat or drink and a husband to raid the refrigerator in the middle of the night." David saw the look she gave him for that. "Or not."

"One bedroom with two large beds or two much smaller rooms with a Jack and Jill bathroom in addition to your space. Naturally these are just sketches and actual finishes will come later. …Thoughts?" David was interested in her feedback.

"Besides me shooting my staff for this?" Kate asked him which had him looking nervous. Kate was hiding a grin. "For one I don't have money to make any changes yet. I don't even live here yet. I still have a job and an apartment in New York. So nothing's happening any time soon if at all." David's spirits for a future project just took a hit.

"How are you with boiler rooms instead of this?" Kate asked him.

"I can do that, too. You have a problem with yours?" David's interest returned suddenly.

"Follow me. We can leave this here for now." Kate made her way down the hall.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

David had seen her mechanical room and could see her problem. "My staff tells me I'm going to need a new system in a year or two. I'd just as soon get rid of this massive thing at the same time. I can't shut down because I no longer have hot water during this."

Kate didn't have a coat unlike David had and just had to put back on, yet she followed him outside. Thankfully they were back inside in a short space of time.

Then back in the conference room. "Okay, problem number one. This area doesn't have natural gas service yet, and I have no timeline for that to happen. Having said that oil heating is less environmentally friendly and more expensive. The only thing more expensive would be electric and that would never work for you.

"I'm going to suggest that you also remove the oil tank and replace it with a propane tank. It's about 30% less expensive than oil but more expensive than natural gas. The good thing about switching to propane is that when natural gas becomes available changing over to that and keeping all of your new equipment is easy and simple.

"Now for the two main problems. To do this with today's codes means I would need to remove your existing mechanical room in its entirety. Your building isn't sprinklered and your mechanical room will need to be sprinklered. If I keep the mechanical room attached to your main building you will need to have your entire inn sprinklered and that will be very expensive. If I build a separate building that's built with a four hour fire wall neither building will need to be sprinklered. I think. I will have to look into that first though."

Kate groaned. "It gets better." David wasn't done yet. "Solving your hot water problem during this construction is easy. We just put the entire system on a flat bed and make temporary connections. But what will happen is that we'll end up taking up a lot of your parking lot for this. Between the new building, temporary trailer, and a spot for the contractor to put his trailer and container for storage of supplies you're going to lose a lot of it."

Kate could only groan again. She had never thought getting a new hot water system would ever be this difficult.

"I do, however, have an idea for you to solve this problem. It looks like the lot across the street is empty. I can look into it for you. You could buy it and turn that area into your parking lot for staff and leave what's left of your parking lot for guests or a little of both," David suggested.

Kate thought about that but mostly all she saw was dollar signs. She needed a new hot water system and she didn't want to see exposed fire sprinkler piping running everywhere inside the Inn.

"I'll let you know. First I need to save up enough money for this. It comes before this new suite my staff has sprung on me," Kate said.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

David the architect was gone and Kate had a lot to think about. Rick's Confederate bills really needed to come through for her. There were presently four of her staff at the front desk that she needed to talk to as well.

"I appreciate the thought. But you four and everyone else are in big trouble." Kate glared at them.

"We were just trying to look out for you," Judith said. "What if you got married and had kids? Then what would you do? Go buy a house in town or our of town like say New London. That room might have been big enough for Abigail but it's not enough for you. The owner should live here not 30 minutes from here."

"We're just trying to help," Bailey said, looking apologetic.

Kate sighed. She wasn't used to people doing things like this for her. It felt weird. A good kind of weird, but still weird. "Well it did get me an architect for the hot water system I'm going to need first. Long before I need to worry about this suite of yours. So thanks for that. But I'm still getting you for this." Kate pointed at each of them. "And I want the cost of getting him out here so I can reimburse you and don't give me any flack." She was paying for him and not them.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate was done for today and retreated to her room. To her delight Rick there waiting for her. She hadn't seen him all day and couldn't resist walking into his arms and letting him hold her. She might be tough Kate Beckett the Homicide Detective but she was also a woman and she wanted Rick to hold her.

"So they got you an architect to design you a complete suite." Rick was grinning widely.

"Saw that, did you? I don't know what possessed them to do that. I'm not married and I don't have children." She had never really thought about either all that much.

"They're a good group. It shows that they care about you and want you to stay," Rick while he played with her hair.

"Yeah." She was going to have to get used to that it looked like. "At least now I know what it's going to take to get a new hot water system. I was just thinking rip out the old and put something new in. What do I know about building codes?" Kate tried to melt into Rick and forget about her problems.

"It did sound like your architect knew what he was talking about." Rick offers.

That got Kate to lift her head to look up at him since she was basically flat footed wearing her tennis shoes still. "Spying on me, I see." Kate wasn't mad since she was smiling.

"Better get used to it. In a few days I'll be right behind you and you'll never know it," Rick said.

"Don't remind me. These next 11 months are going to be hell. So speaking of that." Kate left his arms and turned her back on him. "Undo me and start stripping. We're making love again and as often as we can until you disappear on me."

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Monday, December 28, 2011

Kate opened her eyes the next morning and as usual Rick was looking right at her. It was still a little creepy but she wasn't going to be seeing this for much longer so she kept her mouth shut and didn't complain.

Instead she reached out to kiss him and then moved in as close as she could. "How about a movie tonight? I could change out of my dress and put on blue jeans. Then we could sit in the TV room together and watch a movie. Think of it as our first date."

"I thought I was the one that was supposed to be doing the courting?" Rick said, his eyes sparkling with mirth.

"It's the 21st century. Women can do a lot of things now. So was that a yes?" Kate smiled at him.

"I'll even let you throw popcorn at me." Rick grinned. "Do we even have popcorn?"

"Buy one of those popcorn machines. Good thinking!" Kate kissed him. "I get to pick the movie though." Kate informs him.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

They were both clean after spending a long time in the shower, partly because Kate had her back shoved up against the shower wall and her legs wrapped around him as they had sex in their hot shower.

This time Kate put on her first dress she had worn here so didn't need Rick's help with the laces on the back. "Have fun, just don't scare the crap out of them." Kate gave him a quick kiss and left her room to start her day.

First thing she needed was coffee so she headed for the kitchen and had to wait a moment while one of the staff used their new, very fancy, espresso machine. She would try it but they were better at it so she waited.

"Thank you!" Kate sipped and hummed as it went down her throat and instantly went to every part of her body, or so it felt.

"Breakfast?" Curt's assistant asked.

"No thanks, I'm good. Maybe lunch." Kate made her way to housekeeping to see if they needed anything. She reminded them that there should be a delivery for them some time today.

Next came walking the inn to verify everything looked clean to her. Then she stopped at the front desk. "How's our ghost?" Kate asked them, knowing Rick had been doing something.

"All quiet so far," Melody said.

"Just remind them that we advertise that we're haunted if they say anything." Kate changed her mind. "I think I'm going to steal a piece of toast. And maybe another cup of coffee."

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Kate was mostly done with both when suddenly her cell phone started ringing. "I'm on vacation." Technically she was working but she was also on vacation. She sighed and fished it out of her dress where she'd hidden it. "Beckett."

"This is Brent Thomas of Sotheby's. I want to inform you that your items were sold on December 26, 2011 and that we will be deducting our fee and issuing a wire transfer to the account you indicate when you filled out your paperwork."

"That's great." Kate could use the money. "May I ask what was the final selling price?"

"$890,000.00 US," Kate heard and promptly dropped her cell phone on her desk.

She scrambled for her phone and picked it back up. "Say that again." She had to have heard wrong.

"Eight hundred ninety thousand United States dollars. Minus our fee. You can expect to see the money in your account within an hour. Your Confederate bills were authenticated as being genuine and our buyers clearly thought they were worth that amount.

"Congratulations, we look forward to serving you again should you ever have another item to sell at auction. Thank you for trusting Sotheby's with your items for auction. Have a pleasant day." Brent hung up abruptly and left her sitting there in stunned silence.

"Eight… Eight… Judith!" Kate yelled for her from the front desk and saw her run into her office. "I need that card that architect left behind. We're hiring him!" Kate knew she had one more auction to go. If it came anywhere near close to this amount she was going to have something like one and a half million dollars to work with.

Judith was back with his card immediately and was beaming since she thought Kate was going to do the new suite when actually she was thinking hot water system.

"Close the door, please." Her knee bouncing, Kate waited impatiently for the door to close.

"Rick, get in here." The second he showed up Kate leapt up to kiss him hard. "We're rich, babe, seriously rich." Kate knew he'd barely scratched what he had buried.

"Which reminds me. We need to dig up your bills and hide them somewhere else. Your bills just made us a lot of money and that's just four of them. I'm going to use that money to make a big change around here. I don't want the contractor stumbling upon it and taking it for himself. So we need to dig it all up and hide it somewhere else before you disappear on me. …Please?" Kate searched his eyes which had a different look to them.

"I'm not trying to steal…" Kate stopped when he said something.

"Babe?" Rick had stopped there and mostly missed everything else.

Kate smiled at him. She hadn't really even noticed until now. She had used that name because she loved him. She was actually now admitting it to herself.

She loved him.


	16. Chapter 16

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 16_

David Murphy had only been hoping, not expecting for Kate call him the very next day. He needed to generate a contract for her and as soon as he got it back signed he would start work immediately.

He was going to include the suite expansion into the work and get the same contractor to do both since he was going to have to modify not just the architecture, but also structural, mechanical, and electrical. He needed to verify that she was connected to the city sanitary sewer system as well as her water line size and water meter. He was only adding one little bathroom, however his plumbing guy was going to want to verify that her pipes were adequately sized.

His first job for himself was to find out who owned that vacant land across the street and whether it could be purchased.

Kate was done kissing Rick and made sure he was ready to dig up all of his confederate bills so they could hide them where the contractor wouldn't find them.

What Kate needed to do was figure out just where that place was. Her room wasn't all that secure. Housekeeping had a key to it so they could clean and change the sheets and towels.

"Where to hide, where to hide?" Kate tried to think. "Why not in here? I have the only key, I think, and if I don't I can make sure that I do." She looked around her office to decide just where would be best. "Maybe I can put something Christmasy over them so that no one will move that."

Kate was satisfied so she went out to the front desk. "You two and your friends win. I'll let him remodel and provide a suite for me to live in." She suddenly found herself being hugged. TWICE!

"We knew you would see it our way." Judith had to answer the phone while Adam answered the bing on the reservations computer.

Kate went off to the mechanical room to tell them her decision. She just didn't know exactly when and could only tell them what the architect had told her.

"And this beast is leaving us as well?" Franklin asked her.

"This entire room is leaving us. Something about I would have to be able to afford putting sprinklers in the entire inn and I don't have that kind of money. What we'll end up with none of us will know until the design's done. So try and keep this place running for a few more months, please!" Kate asked them and went somewhere else.

"Popcorn." She stopped in the kitchen to see if they had popcorn and naturally they didn't.

She got on the computer in her office to look up popcorn making machines. Preferably one that had its own cart. Then she checked out popcorn to pop, butter, and popcorn salt. It might take three weeks to get it but at least it was all ordered.

After that she was back out front. "Spread the word. I need a lift to the closest grocery store. It'll only take a minute or two. I'll be in my room changing clothes." Kate had a date to get ready for.

She might be doing this backwards but that sounded like her. Falling for the guy before they even have their first date and even this date they weren't even going anywhere. Mostly because he couldn't go anywhere.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"Popcorn?" she questioned as Kate picked up a box of her favorite microwaveable popcorn, ACT II. Jen didn't get it but Kate was the boss.

"I've ordered a popcorn machine for the TV room, too. It might take three weeks for it to get here, but we're making popcorn," Kate said gleefully.

Kate dropped off her box of popcorn in her room then changed clothes again back to her period dress and kept the tennis shoes. Then she went back out to work.

A strange sound had her going to the front door and looked out to see it raining. "This is so not what I needed." The only silver lining she saw was that her dad wasn't going to get here for a few more days. It needed to stop raining and not turn into ice or at least to melt away.

Then it occurred to her that this rain would delay digging up Rick's Confederate bills so she could hide them. She still needed something to hide them under though. She could do that tomorrow when it stopped raining.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

It had been an hour so she went into her office and brought up the bank account for the inn and put in her login and password. Immediately she saw an extra $890,000 that didn't used to be there. She sat there wondering if the next auction would do just as well. If it did that would give her over 1.6 million dollars. That had to be enough to do what she wanted to do, right?

Say it took a month to get the drawings. Another month to select a contractor. Maybe six to eight months to build it. It could be done before Thanksgiving or even earlier.

There was no doubt that if the next auction did this well things were going to change around here.

Kate just kept looking at the balance and couldn't believe what it might look like a week from now. And she had another four Confederate bills in her possession at the moment. She just didn't know what to do with them except hang onto them for now.

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Kate made her way to her room after Paul showed up for the night shift at the front desk. She was sure Rick had done something but no one had complained about it so they either didn't notice, didn't care or had already worked out that it was their ghost.

She was taking her shoes off and letting them fall to the floor. "You can come in, Rick," Kate called out and was instantly rewarded with him showing up at the end of her bed still dressed in the same old suit.

Kate dropped her second shoe and got to wrap her arms around his neck. "We're rich. Four of your bills sold for $890,000. I've got one more auction that happens on January 1st so it's possible I might get the same amount for them. I'll be able to fix the hot water problem and increase the size of my room. All thanks to you." Kate kissed him.

"What's wrong?" He wasn't kissing her back very enthusiastically.

"Me being a thief got the money." He'd already had this conversation with Abigail but she couldn't get him to feel better about what he had done.

"Rick, don't. Please don't. That Confederate money is going to help the inn. That in turn gives all our guests a place to have a good time during their vacations. Without you this inn wouldn't exist. Think of all the people you have touched in a good way. Yes, stealing's a bad thing and I don't ever want you to do it again. But a lot of good's coming from all those bills. And I still love you." Kate searched his eyes which still looked sad.

"I said, I love you," Kate tried again and finally saw the hint of a sparkle in his eyes. By and by she saw him smiling and gave him another kiss. "We need to dig up all of your bills before the end of December. I don't know where you buried them but I can't risk the contractor digging there so we need to move them. …After it stops raining and gets dark and…cold outside." Kate let her head rest against his chest. "This is going to be messy, isn't it? Does it weigh a lot?" She was only just so strong.

"We can handle them. Where are we moving them to?" They needed to be someplace safe and not easily found.

"My office. I'm going to put a Christmas tree skirt over them or more than one. Then put a Christmas tree on top. A small one. I'll wrap some presents and put them under the tree. No one would dare to think of looking under a Christmas tree. Not in this place." They still had Christmas trees all over the place and likely would for untold weeks still.

"Not bad." Rick liked it.

"Good, we can start whenever you're ready. Now strip. I want to make love to you. I'm getting on top this time." Kate gave him a quick kiss and turned around so he could unzip her.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate was awake but she was on her back looking up at the ceiling and didn't see Rick for a change. Though she did feel something; she was about ready to explode in an orgasm. Looking down she saw a still naked Rick with his head between her legs.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Then in the shower he shoved her up against the tiled wall and brought her to another orgasm as he climaxed inside her.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"You're going to spoil me if you keep that up." Damn but if she didn't feel amazing after all of this morning's activities.

"I need to get in as much as I can before December's gone. It's December 29 and almost over," Rick told her, not meaning to make her sad.

Kate sat down on the bed before giving Rick a chance to lace her up from behind this morning. "You being gone really is going to suck." She was going to miss not having him around, she knew that for sure.

Then she perked up. "We're making love during lunch today. If I'm going to do without you for eleven months I want an overload of you. To the point that I can barely walk." Then she got to her feet. "Now lace me up." Kate patiently stood there and let him take some of her ability to breathe away from her.

"Have fun, babe." Kate kissed him again, exited her room, and locked the door.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

It was almost lunch and Kate was thinking about going to her room so she could get laid when suddenly her architect walked through the door. "Mr. Murphy, what brings you by?" He was just here it seemed.

"I brought you a contract to sign for my services for your project. I'll design a new mechanical room as well as a new suite for you and investigate whether that lot's available and what it will cost to purchase it. Once my drawings are almost complete we can bring in an engineering firm to design the mechanicals. All I need is your signature and a deposit. Final payment is due when my design's complete and meets your satisfaction," David explained.

"That was fast. We can talk in my office." Kate led the way.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

David was leaving with a signed contract and a check for her deposit. They had talked about how the timing was likely to work. He would need to show up and even though it was cold out, he and his staff would be out there taking measurements so that he knew just how much space he had to work with. First, though, he needed to find out about the adjacent property. If she couldn't purchase it then he would need to come up a very different design. Not that he knew just what yet.

Kate was happy since the timing was satisfactory. Once he was closer to being done with the floor plan design and site plan design they would talk about finishes and what she wanted to see in her new suite.

If all went as planned she should be all moved in before Halloween.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"Rick?" Kate was in her room and was skipping lunch. The second she saw him, she said, "Undo me." She turned her back to him then once she was almost naked she helped him with getting his suit off.

She still couldn't taste him but she didn't care any longer. Just having him was enough.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Thankfully one of her staff had a truck and you could still get just about anything that was Christmas in town. So now they were taking everything into her office and clearing out a corner. Her new comforter, tree, lights, decorations were all in the corner waiting for the crate and containers filled with Confederate bills.

Once that was dug up and in place they could get to work covering it all up with all the Christmas stuff to hide it. Kate was thinking that this just might actually work. Plus it got it all out of the ground.

She was sitting at her desk looking at something on her computer when there was a knock on her door. "Bailey, come on in. What can I help you with?"

"I hear that you hired an architect to design you a real suite to live in." Bailey was all smiles.

"He's designing a new mechanical room so I can solve the hot water problem. Rip out the old one and build a new one. And yes, he's also designing a suite for me."

"I knew it! I knew it! I knew this place would grow on you. So when are you moving in?" Bailey looked really happy.

"Roughly Halloween," Kate said.

"HALLOWEEN!? Why so long?" It couldn't be that hard to design and build her a suite for her to live in and move out here.

"I need a design, choose the finishes, buy the lot across the street since we'll be losing a lot of the parking lot to do this. Temporary hot water, contractor trailer, and a huge trash bin." Then Kate broke it to her. "If I can't buy the lot behind us and across the street for our new parking lot, maybe nothing happens."

"I knew I asked Santa for the wrong thing. Stupid Bailey!" Bailey spun in place then hung her head. Kate got up to hug her.

"Relax, it's out of our hands for now anyway. So what did you ask Santa for?" Not that he existed and could make wishes come true anyway.

"And make sure it never comes true? No way. You're trying to ruin it, aren't you? Well it won't work and I'm not talking." Bailey informed her.

"Not talking, huh?" Kate suddenly had an idea to get her to talk. Since she was still hugging her she simply put her hands at Bailey's side and started tickling her. Instantly it was apparent that Bailey was ticklish.

Between laughs Bailey screamed, ran for it and slammed the office door closed behind her to slow Kate down if she chased after her.

Since Kate didn't even open the door Bailey came back to the front desk. Guests should start checking out soon which meant her day of cleaning rooms would be starting soon.

"So what did you ask Santa for?" Adam asked quietly.

"Promise not to tell?" Bailey would tell them but just not Kate.

"Cross my heart and hope to die. Especially if it involves Kate." Bailey watched both of them cross their hearts.

"I asked for a boyfriend for Kate so she would stay," Bailey whispered.

"Really! Well I've got news, she already has one. They've been meeting in her room for the last few days. Judith's pretty sure she saw the back of him in the TV room the other night. They were watching Forbidden Planet. She said if they got any closer they would be glued together," Melody whispered back.

Bailey clapped both hands over her mouth to keep from squealing out loud. Instead she started dancing. "Yes, Yes, Yes!" However, she said that too loud and clapped her hands over her mouth again.

She decided it was time to get out of there. "I'm going to start work." Bailey sang her way to the third floor. "Kate has a boyfriend, Kate has a boyfriend."

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Rick was unlacing Kate so she could get out of her dress. "What did you do today, babe?" Kate was curious because no one had complained the last couple of days.

Kate heard him chuckle. "I played checkers with this kid. His parents wanted him off his phone and doing something fun so I moved a checker and we played a game of checkers."

Kate was smiling widely and she spun to face him. "So who won?" She was curious. Except he wasn't answering her question. "Rick, who won?"

"He did." Rick let his head fall to his chest. Kate laughed at him. "He cheated! I don't know how but somehow he cheated." He had lost to a kid. It was embarrassing.

"My poor baby." Kate stroked the side of his face and kissed him quickly. "Now strip, we're making love again." She gave him another quick kiss and finished getting out of her dress.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate woke the next morning to find him watching her again. Instead of complaining she kissed him. "I forgot to take my dresses down to laundry." Kate pressed her face into her pillow. She'd screwed up. They both needed to be cleaned so she was going to have to wear something else today.

"Can we dig up your bills tonight? Maybe that rain softened the dirt, making it easier to get to before the ground gets too hard to dig at all."

"Just get ready to get dirty," Rick warned her.

"We can take a nice hot shower after we're done," Kate said slyly.

"Well, you can. I won't get dirty." Rick saw the look she was giving him. "Ghost, remember."

"Trust me, I'm well aware that you're a ghost. After tomorrow I might not ever see you again." Kate felt tears well up. This was why she hadn't been willing to risk her heart again. If she didn't get Rick back it was going to hurt.

"I'll be here. …Did you put in what you wanted for Christmas to Santa?" Rick asked.

"Santa doesn't exist." Kate was all set to tell him that she didn't have a fireplace until she remembered what Bailey had told her. "No. He brings presents, doesn't he? He can't make you something other than a ghost."

"So tell him you want me as your present," Rick suggested.

"Christmas is over, you know," Kate pointed out since today was December 30, 2011 and not Christmas.

"You do remember where you live, right? Christmas never ends around here," Rick reminded her.

Kate growled at him. She hadn't written a letter to Santa since she was really, really little. Before she had decided that he didn't exist.

"You don't even have a stocking hanging on your fireplace with your name on it. No wonder he doesn't leave you anything," Rick teased her.

"Will you stop! I'm…I'm going to go take a shower before you say something like the tooth fairy or the Easter bunny exist, too." Kate pushed herself away from him and rolled out of bed.

"How do you know that…" Rick shut up when she glared at him and walked away, giving him a perfect view of her bare ass.

"Looking good, Kate," Rick said instead and watched her wiggle her bare ass at him.

"You could join me, you know." Kate shook her ass this time and disappeared into the bathroom.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

It was stupid and she knew it. It was just that too much of her heart was at stake for her not to try. She felt ridiculous but she signed it then even put on some lipstick and kissed it, leaving an impression of her lips behind. She folded it up, put it into an envelope, and addressed it, followed by putting a stamp on it that Abigail had left behind in a drawer.

She went out to the front desk. "Mail this for me, please?" She handed her envelope to Judith.

"A letter to Santa?" She was surprised.

"Don't give me any grief, just mail it for me, please." Kate retreated back into her office and closed the door.

"Are we seriously mailing this?" Judith asked Adam.

"Hell, no. We're delivering it to Santa personally. Where's Bailey? She knows who to give it to."


	17. Chapter 17

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 17_

They were out in the middle of nowhere, back behind the inn. They were near the edge of the parking lot. The crate, she was told, was going to be first and he hadn't seen it since he buried it.

Right now Rick was using his pick axe and was making a mess. When he got tired Kate stepped in, digging out what he had loosened up until there wasn't anymore loose dirt to remove. She was done and had to wait for Rick to keep pounding away.

Then he hit something and had to put aside his pick axe, switch to a shovel, and help Kate. It took them two hours, according to Kate's phone but they had it out of the hole. "I was expecting a crate. Like really big crate." She used her hands to show a huge crate. "This thing is barely bigger than a pony keg."

"So where's the other one?" Kate was ready to get this over with. Her arms were tired and she was sweating inside of her heavy coat which was not good.

"You know we have to fill in this hole, right?" Rick asked.

"Must we? We don't even have enough dirt to fill it back in. The crate took up space we don't have the dirt for," Kate argued.

Rick gave in. "It's your inn."

"Yes, it is. Now where's the other one?" Kate asked him again and helped him carry the crate over to the other site.

"So one was on one side of the parking lot and this one is on the opposite side." Kate looked around trying to pinpoint where they were now.

"Just be thankful that they didn't put the parking lot over it or we'd be in trouble," Rick remarked.

"Well since you dug this one up once already to get me those bills this one should be easier," she said hopefully.

While it started out that way, it didn't last long. Then Rick stopped. "We need to stop and just dig. This isn't a crate. It's plastic Rubbermaid containers that are taped closed," he explained. If he put a pick through one of them he risked damaging several if not all of the bills that were inside.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate put the Rubbermaid containers in pillow cases and carried them into her office while getting looks from Judith who was manning the night desk tonight. Only to see her come back with something bigger that was wrapped in a bed sheet.

They kept all of them in sheets and pillow cases and stacked them so that they could cover them all with a comforter. Then they were going to put up their live mini Christmas tree and make sure there was a pan under it for if or when the water flowed over the side.

They had to put Christmas decorations on the tree followed by wrapping empty boxes for Christmas presents. Finally Rick plugged in the lights in the tree and watched Kate collapse into her chair. "I am so tired," she groaned. She felt terrible and it wasn't just because her arms hurt. She'd been sweating under her heavy coat that was presently on the floor.

"Dead tired?" Rick teased her.

"Ha, ha. If I die here does that mean we haunt this place together?" Kate asked him.

"I don't even understand why I'm here let alone what would happen to you if you do. So how about you just make sure you don't," Rick said with a sharp nod.

"Just so long as I don't have to do that ever again. My job in New York City is far more dangerous than this one. And before you say it, yes I intend to be very careful once I'm back to that job, too." Kate told him.

Rick walked around behind her and rubbed her shoulders. "Forgive me if I worry."

Kate let him work on her shoulders. "You're forgiven." She was learning to love his hands. "So just how tired are you?" Then she saw what time it was. "Never mind, I have to get up and start my day in a couple of hours."

"Sounds like enough time to me." Rick spun Kate's chair around, got down on his knees, and began taking Kate's pants off her.

Kate even helped him get her shoes off and lifted her ass off the chair so he could pull her jeans and panties off of her. She spread her legs wide and watched as he put his head between her legs; she moaned at the first touch of his tongue.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate didn't have her period dresses back yet since it was too soon so she was dressed in her normal clothes and high heels this time.

She was up front and telling her guests that she hoped they'd had a pleasant stay.

"I beat the ghost at checkers," one young boy proudly announced.

His mother apologized for him. "Ignore him. He's been talking about beating a ghost all last night and again this morning."

Kate bent down to his level. "So was it one game or two?"

"Just one." He had been hoping he would come back ever since he beat him the first time.

"Maybe you'll just have to talk your parents into coming back so you can challenge him again. I have it on good authority that he can't wait to challenge you to another game. He wasn't happy that you beat him," Kate said.

"MOM, DAD!" He was ready to stay and play another game now.

"We'll just have to see, but we do love your inn," his mom smiled.

"Maybe when it's warm enough to go fishing," his dad said.

"Don't forget to stop at the Old Steel Mill and take home a special Christmas memento. There's more out there than you will ever imagine," Kate said even though she had yet to go there herself.

They were gone. "Ghost, huh?" one of the women at the front desk teased Kate.

"He's a kid, what does he know? Imaginary friend, maybe," Kate suggested and hurried to the kitchen since she was starving. All of last night had taken a toll on her.

There was a tiny table with just one chair in the kitchen and Kate could easily imagine that Abigail sat here and ate many a meal.

It was called a Sister's Burger on the menu. It was basically an Angus Beef cheeseburger with her choice of cheese. They didn't do French fries but they did have potato skins, one of Kate's favorite things. Finding out that they didn't have a shake machine, she made a mental note to buy one. She could kill for a strawberry shake right about now.

However, as she looked around she wasn't sure just where it was going to go. Unless she gave up her little table and chair. Still it might be worth it.

Once lunch was over she went into her office to figure out how to order one and get it delivered. Then she needed to find out what to buy to make it work, all to get a strawberry shake. Her head chef was going to find something new to play with next year.

"How's your burger?" Curt asked her since he had a lull in making lunches for guests.

"You're hired," Kate said with a tired smile. "I might even give you a raise if you learn how to make a strawberry milkshake." She just gave him a clue at what was coming his way soon.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate had her cup of coffee and was standing at the front desk greeting any early arrivals while listening to them either telling people that they were full that week or that yes, they had a room available.

"How are we doing?" Kate asked them when they both had a lull and there was no one at the front desk.

"100% this week but you already knew that. We're at 100% the first week next year. So far about 92% for the month of January. We go down to the 80s for the next several months until July, then we're back to already booked solid."

"That reminds me, what kind of fireworks are allowed in Holly?" Kate queried.

"They can't be too big but we can shoot fireworks that leave the ground. Abigail usually bought around $400 worth. All those fireworks tend to leave lots of little pieces of paper from the explosions all over the place. We fire them off right out in front of the fountain," Jen said.

"Fireworks. Local or do we go to New London?" Kate asked.

"Local always. Boy Scout stand," Melody piped up.

"Of course." If it was Boy Scouts it was looking like Abigail would do it. "How long before all these Christmas trees have to come down and go in the trash?" They were live trees that had been cut down so they would dry out and become a fire hazard.

"The trees go away in about two weeks and a lot of the Christmas lights and other things go back in the attic a week later. How's the electrical bill?" She was curious.

"Big!" Kate quickly replied. Her little apartment didn't use up a fraction of what this place used. She was going to have to do some research to see if it was excessive when compared with previous Decembers.

"My dad shows up here for one night tomorrow. Are we still full?" Kate asked, hoping for a cancellation.

"I'm afraid so. We just don't have any spare beds. Sorry." Melody wanted to help, she really did.

"I'll need a roll-away for the night of the 31st in my room, then. The best we have since I'll be sleeping on it." She was going to give her dad her bed and sleep on that thing.

"More coffee," Kate announced and headed for the kitchen.

Jen made a call. "Amelia, we need a really thick twin size mattress. Kate plans on letting her dad have her bed while she sleeps on a roll-away."

"Great, we owe you." She hung up. "She has one at home she's going to bring with her tomorrow when she drops Bailey off." So that solved that problem.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate was back with her coffee. "My dad's showing up around lunch so I need a ride to go get him, too."

"Already taken care of," Jen assured her.

"I don't know what I'd do without you guys." Kate had never met people so friendly in her life. Most everyone in New York City kept to themselves and even those that saw anything at all did so with blinders on and told the police nothing.

"So long as you move out here you'll never have to find out," was the response she got.

"Not until I solve something first and I need my other job to do that," Kate explained…again.

"Does it involve your boyfriend?" Melody asked her and promptly got kicked in the shin. "Ow!" She stared at her for that.

"My what?" Kate asked them.

"Nothing," Jen answered quickly.

"The one you were watching Forbidden Planet with and eating popcorn, when it actually landed in someone's mouth." At first Melody was teasing and then was afraid she'd opened her big mouth just a little too much.

"Oh." Kate had chosen really late at night to take over the TV room to have her date with Rick. Apparently if wasn't late enough. "I plead the 5th." She sipped her coffee.

"What else did you see?" Kate prayed they hadn't seen Rick just up and vanish since that was what he'd done to beat her back to their room so they could have sex.

"Nothing."

"Uh-huh." Kate wasn't buying it. They had also done a lot of kissing along with a little bit of wandering hands. "So much for watching a movie alone around this place."

"Who was the night shift that night?" Kate was going to give them a piece of her mind.

"I have no idea," Jen told her, lying through her teeth.

"Me, neither." Melody lied through her teeth just as easily.

"Right. You two are off my Christmas card list and getting a lump of coal in your stocking next year," Kate informed them.

"Oh no, not that." Melody was willing to talk and promptly got kicked in the shin yet again. "Ow!" She glared at Jen for kicking the very same spot.

Kate glared at both of them and went into her office and closed the door. "Rick."

Rick had heard every word. "We were spotted."

"Okay, take the gloves off. Do anything and everything you can think of and can get away with to those two until they talk. Just don't hurt them."

Rick was in. "I thought you'd never ask. Spying on us was so not gentlemanly. Even if it was a woman."

"Don't screw up our getting reservations, either. Besides those two things anything goes." Kate said and watched as he walked up to her.

"So this is the other Kate Beckett?" Rick questioned her but didn't give her a chance to say anything because he kissed her. Then he lifted her up and put her on her desk. He spread her legs and stepped in-between them while still kissing her.

Kate was barely breathing when he broke from that kiss. "Wow. After that kiss we may be up all night making love."

"Since you're putting your father in the same room as us I'm betting tonight will be the last time."

"Please don't say last time." Kate cradled his face in her hands and looked him in the eye. "I'm in too deep for it to be our last time."

"Sorry. I am going to fight to come back here if by some miracle you manage to solve it," Rick vowed. Kate kissed him again. But he knew Abigail had tried and had gotten nowhere.

"I'll solve it. I have to solve it." It wasn't lost on her that she had yet another murder case to solve because her heart was involved.

Kate really didn't want to let go of him. But being the owner was her job and she needed to be out there. "Back to work, I suppose." Except she didn't let go of him.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Kate had one night and one day left before Rick would just vanish for eleven months. He would still be there since he was trapped there. She just wouldn't see him, hear him, or touch him again until next December.

"Babe, did Kyra suddenly hate you for any reason? Did her parents talk her into doing something?" Kate didn't like talking about a woman that he had loved at one time, but she needed to understand her.

Rick pulled Kate in tighter to him as they lay in bed. Only Kate mattered to him now. "We hadn't talked for about two days. Her parents had seen to that. They had tried for weeks but finally she stopped talking to me completely," he explained.

"So her parents were here longer than just a few hours," Kate said thoughtfully.

"Oh, yes. They never confronted me and ordered me away, or tried to physically keep me away. That was beneath their station. People like them didn't do anything physical. They hired people for that. Cooks, cleaners, lawn maintenance. They even had people cleaning their clothes and even their own shoes."

"Both of her parents hated you but would never of actually hit you?" Kate verified.

He shook his head. "No, that would have been beneath them. They would never have done such a thing. Maybe use their money to hire someone but I never saw such a person."

Kate moved on to the students. "Okay, so did Kyra have any friends besides you? Other girls in the school? Did any of the other girls not like seeing you two together? Was one of them jealous of what she thought you two had?"

Rick closed his eyes and tried to think. "Her friends were Mary…Scott, I think. Sarah…Morgan. There was one that I saw her parents talking to from time to time. Catherine Towner. At first I never really understood why they would want to talk to her. Then it occurred to me that they might be trying to hire her as part of their household. As one of their servants, I assumed. She was a rather ordinary girl. Nothing special that I recall. I think they tried to get her to go after me instead of their daughter. She was forever bringing me drinks. Fruit drinks, actually. A few almost had me gagging from the taste. A cook she was not."

Kate tried to think this through. "And you felt ill some days?"

"I was a photographer, remember. Ethyl ether, acetic or sulfuric acid, pyrogallic acid. The chemicals had to be mixed by hand and all too often in the dark in a tight and confined space. The vapors from the chemicals could easily make you sick. Being sick was nothing new depending on how many pictures I took and when the last one was."

He reconsidered his chosen profession. "If only I knew then what I know now. I would have been a painter. Or maybe not. Most of the masters were never masters until they were dead. None of them really made much money.

"Maybe that was what drove me to be a thief. I succumbed to the lure of easy money."

"No, more likely it was the chemicals. Alcohol has the same affect. You're no longer thinking straight. Harder drugs like cocaine or heroin work even faster and harder. It's just that those drugs are all addictive and cause serious damage to your body and your mind." Kate wasn't willing to believe that he was a simple thief.

"Drugs." Kate had an idea. "Did you take photographs while Kyra's parents were here?" She was formulating a theory.

"A few, why?" Rick didn't see any connection.

"Just thinking. I really need to find your body. You're sure you're here somewhere?" Kate asked him again.

"It's the last place I remember being. Why else would I be trapped here?"

"I need information. I'm going to need to know everything you know. No matter how small or useless you think it is. Maybe my dad has found something useful."

Kate only had one day left.


	18. Chapter 18

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 18_

Kate had questioned Rick until she fell asleep last night. While she had missed out on making love to him then, she thought her questions and his answers were more important.

She hadn't gotten either of her dresses back yesterday so this morning she put on more normal clothing along with her high heels.

It was December 31, 2011 and it was her last day with Rick. After today he would still be here but she wouldn't see him, hear him, or feel him.

She was dressed and so was Rick but she delayed starting her day so she could hold onto him. Her fears made her heart hurt and tears pooled in her eyes. However, this really wasn't her. She was stronger than this. "Have fun, babe." She kissed him but his kiss felt different. It was like if she tried hard enough she could kiss right through him.

It had already started. He was disappearing on her already.

Kate tried to keep her mind on her job but it wasn't easy. She was wiping away tears when her ride showed up to go pick up her dad.

"Are you okay?" Charlotte asked since Kate was still wiping her eyes.

"I'm fine." It was her standard response and she immediately recognized it, but that was after she could come up with a different answer.

"Did you have a fight with your boyfriend?" Charlotte inquired.

"My what?" Kate's eyes opened wide.

"Small town remember? Even smaller inn. Everyone knows everything in this town," she reminded Kate.

Living in a small town really was different. "No, we didn't have a fight. I'm going back to New York City soon and I'm going to miss him." Kate needed to tell a white lie instead of saying he was their ghost and that she was in love with a ghost.

"And you have something you have to finish first." Charlotte had heard that several times.

"Yes. I really need to solve this first. It's important," Kate said for the umpteenth time.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"DAD!" She saw him get off the train with a small bag and a briefcase so she ran to reach him. Next thing Jim knew he was being hugged.

For Jim this was very different. Katie hadn't hugged him in a long time it seemed. If this place did this to her then she needed to stay here forever. Forget New York City.

He put what he was carrying down so he could hug her back and soak up the moment. Then just like that the moment was over when she let go of him and picked up the larger of his two carry-ons.

"I have a car waiting. You should see this place." Kate just knew he was going to love it. She certainly did. "How was your trip?" She had made it a few times and didn't find it to be bad.

"It was nice enough. I actually had a window seat so I got to see where I was going," Jim said. "I take it that it's cold outside." Kate was wearing a big coat and while he was wearing a coat it probably wasn't going to be warm enough based on Katie and others that he saw.

Kate nodded. "Yeah, it's rather chilly. I've been told that December isn't really all that cold. January's supposed to be the worst month around here. Not to worry, the car and the inn have heat. And I'm giving you my bed."

"Katie…" Jim was all set to argue that anything would be fine with him.

"I don't want to hear it. You get the bed and I get a roll-away. It'll be fine." Kate walked him to the car and tapped the trunk to get Charlotte to open it so she could put his bags inside.

"Dad, this is Charlotte. Charlotte's one of the staff. This is my dad, Jim."

"A pleasure, Mr. Beckett. We've been trying to talk Kate into staying here permanently. It will be good to have another voice." Charlotte automatically assumed that Jim would see it their way.

Kate glared at her. "Ignore her. They all know full well that I have a job I need to return to and that I have a project I have to finish before I decide what to do." Kate glared at Charlotte again.

"I've learned from experience that you can't talk Katie into anything if she's already decided. She's stubborn and takes after her mother in that way," Jim informed Charlotte and ignored the daggers Kate sent his way. "However, I'm with you. This job would be far safer than the one in the city."

"Thanks a lot, Dad." Kate did wonder what her dad was thinking and guessed that she knew now.

"I lost my wife then almost lost my only daughter to one event. Her job's dangerous and I sit at home wondering if that next phone call is going to be someone telling me I just lost my daughter forever as well. But she's stubborn so she doesn't listen," Jim said with a sigh.

Kate sat there and watched where they were going. She didn't see her job as being that dangerous. But as usual she didn't consider what her decisions did to others. And at the time she had needed to find out who had killed her mother very badly. A year of therapy, this place, and Rick had gotten to her.

"So how do you like Holly and working at the inn?" Jim was afraid he'd already said too much since Katie was sitting in silence and probably was angry at him.

"Holly is the only place to live. There isn't enough tea in China to get me to live in New York City. No offense, but it sounds dirty, dangerous, and expensive. Working at the inn is perfect. I'm never going to get rich working there, but I've got more friends than anyone in New York City. And it's nice clean little city with no violence or drugs. And no World Trade Center. …Sorry." Charlotte had opened her big mouth just a little too much.

"No offense, we don't have a World Trade Center any longer, either. That was a really dark day for the city. And you're right it's a little dirty, there's crime, and it's very expensive. It's just that big cities have their place and their uses. Small towns aren't for everyone," Jim mentioned as Charlotte drove.

"Point taken." Charlotte gave him that one.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

"Welcome to downtown Holly. During Christmas this road was closed and filled with tents selling almost everything. Kate should really have a car so she could get down here and see it next year. Between the tents and what's being sold in them, and the lights and music that plays all night long, it's a magical place." Charlotte loved Holly.

"Music, no one told me anything about music." Kate wondered just what she missed.

"It was all Christmas music. But not those cheap jingle bells songs. Besides you made it clear what you thought of Christmas at the time," Charlotte retorted.

"Yeah, sorry." Kate had been wrong about ghosts and this place was Christmas and nothing but Christmas. It was hard to stay indifferent to Christmas let alone hate it.

Charlotte and Jim looked at each other as Kate stared at the floor of the car. They silently questioned whether Kate had finally seen the light or if they'd at least reached her.

"And here we are," Charlotte announced and drove slowly up the drive so Jim could take it all in. "Wait until it gets dark and all the lights come on!" Charlotte enthused.

"You should see my light bill, too," Kate added and rolled her eyes at just how big the damn bill was.

Jim had his eyes wide open as he looked at the place. Yes, he saw a lot of Christmas stuff and yes, even the inn itself, thanks to the red bricks and green roof, looked Christmasy. Still looking past all the color and Christmas decorations it was a lovely building.

"I don't remember this." Jim knew he, his wife, and Katie when she was young had been here to see Abigail years ago. However, seeing this place didn't stir any memories.

Stepping out in the cold made Jim aware that he didn't have a heavy enough coat to be outside for long. So he helped Katie with his bags, went inside, and tried to shrug off the cold.

Kate didn't remember the lone guy on the front desk being there when she'd left. "What happened to Jen, I thought she was here."

"She called off sick and got me to take her place. She said it was just a cold," Shawn said.

"Shawn, this is my dad, Jim. I'm putting him in my room. I'm gong to need a roll-away delivered later for me to use."

"Yes, ma'am. A pleasure to meet you, sir. Welcome to Magical Inn. I'm sure Kate will take good care of you," Shawn said with a smile.

"This way, Dad." Kate led him to what was now their room.

Jim took a peek inside the dining room and sitting room and looked at all the antiques down the hallway to her room. Then he saw the key she was using to unlock the door and broke into a smile.

Once inside the room he saw the Christmas tree, fireplace, one big bed, a lone armoire, and a door that he was guessing led to a bathroom. He also saw more antique paintings hanging on the wall.

"A Christmas tree?" Jim couldn't resist questioning his daughter. He knew what both of them thought about Christmas now and why.

"It grows on you," Kate shrugged as she closed and locked the door. "The bathroom's through the door if you need it." They were going probably to be in this room for a bit.

"I'm good," Jim said.

"There's one more person you need to meet." Kate wasn't sure how he was going to take this.

"I noticed that your staff thinks a lot about you." Jim wasn't blind.

"Yeah, they're all like that. One day I had three good friends and the next I know I had twenty-three or more. But I've got one you need to meet. He's more than just a friend. Rick, meet my dad." She was hoping he was already in here or would show up when she called him.

"Mr. Beckett, a pleasure to meet you, sir." Rick held out his hand and waited for Jim to shake it.

"Rick, my dad, Jim. Dad, this is Richard Rodgers." Kate held her breath.

Jim gave him the once over and saw that he was well-dressed. His suit looked really nice if a little old fashioned. "Richard Rodgers." Jim stared at him for a moment. "The man you wanted me to look up?" He looked at him in a different light. He looked around to try and figure out where he had come from. It also had him looking around since he wasn't sure how he got here.

"You had your dad do a background check on me?" Rick didn't remember her doing that.

"I have to find out who murdered you, don't I? I need to know all I can. You know that." Kate hoped he understood.

Jim snapped his head around to look at Kate. "Murdered?" He didn't look dead to him.

"About that. Rick's a ghost. He's been dead for a long time. A really long time." She knew she had to get passed this part somehow. "He's solid today but tomorrow no one will see him again until next December." She was aware this was going to take some time. Hell, it had taken her more than just a few hours and they didn't have that much time left.

{^} **O**0**O** {^} O**0**O {^} **O**0**O** {^}

Jim was sitting on the bed, sort of. Okay, mostly he was still standing and using the bed to lean up against. "So, only December which ends today." After listening to what these two had to tell him for what felt like the last two hours Jim was beginning to understand.

He even reached out and saw his hand go right through him. Rick and more Kate were upset that he was fading so fast.

"I need to find out who killed him and where his body is. He'll be trapped here forever if I don't," Kate explained again.

"But he's already dead. So why do you care?" In the movies Rick would just need a reason to move on. Why did Katie care so much?

"Because I love him." There, she'd admitted it to someone besides herself.

"You…_what_ ?" Jim had been wondering if she would ever love anyone. Leave it to his daughter to fall in love with a dead man. "You really know how to pick'em, Katie, I'll give you that."

"Thanks a lot. Maybe something more helpful. If I don't solve his murder I'm not going to see him until next December, if even then. Abigail begged me to find out what happened to him so I need to do just that. Not just for her but for me. I don't want to lose him, Dad. So I need you to help me." She was in so deep that she almost didn't care who knew now.

"Well, I have learned a few things." Jim picked up his briefcase and opened it. He looked again at Rick and shook his head. This was a lot to process and he was going to need some time.

Jim took out a scan of two very old pictures and handed them to Kate. "Meet Gregg and Virginia Blaine."

Rick was standing right next to her and looked for himself. "That's them. I even remember taking those pictures. They actually survived all this time?" Rick didn't believe it.

"There was a note that they were taken by someone named Rodgers which I'm guessing is you," Jim said.

Kate actually had a picture of who she thought of as the enemy. "What else?" He had more than she had even if she hadn't been in the city for long. She kept taking vacations and time off to come here instead.

"They did indeed own an import and export business. Perhaps more importantly they also had a deal with a major railroad to transport everything almost anywhere within what was then the United States. Your idea that they lived a privileged life was correct," Jim told them. "I also found a few more pictures. Here's their one and only daughter. I haven't been able to find anything about her." He gave that one to Kate.

"That's Kyra." Rick didn't remember taking that particular picture but he must have at some point.

"A little short, maybe, but she's pretty," Kate reluctantly admitted. Thankfully Kyra was dead and Rick was hers now. If she could just figure out how to keep him.

Jim gave Kate another picture. "I found this one, too. I'm thinking it was a picture of all the girls and perhaps the staff at the time. It was a school for young girls then."

"I remember that one now," Rick stated. "Kyra and her friends." He proceeded to point them out. "I don't see her parents. They were there when I took this."

"The building looks a lot different now," Jim commented. It wasn't just that the photo was a sort of black and white photo. Just not today's black and white.

"It's changed over the years," Rick agreed.

"Here's what I found out about their import export business." Jim handed over a few sheets of paper.

"Cargo manifests. Do you recognize any of these?" Kate asked and glanced at Rick.

"Sulfuric acid, nitric acid, this one's a solvent, ammonium nitrate. Several of these are used or can be used in photography. Some are used when you can't get some of the others. All of them create vapors that aren't good for you. Not that many of us knew that at the time." Rick recognized a few. "Silver chloride, ammonia, silver iodide, mercury."

Kate pointed at one she knew well and what it did. "What about this one?"

Rick looked puzzled and shook his head. "Cyanide? It has no useful benefits in photography. No photographer has any reason to use that chemical."

"It's widely used in gold mines even today. A very dangerous chemical." Jim knew that chemical. "Back in World War II it was thought to kill quickly and painlessly. Hitler and others supposedly took it to kill themselves before the Russians found them."

"Cyanide's deadly when swallowed. It only takes an amount the size of a grain of rice to kill you. However, low doses, when someone's exposed over a long period of time, can cause swelling in the throat which can also be explained away as malnutrition," Kate explained. She had learned a few things being around Lanie all this time.

"When you were sick, what did it feel like?" Kate asked him.

"I coughed, my throat burned, I refused to eat and drink, sleep was difficult but it faded over time. But I never used cyanide. It had no useful purpose in my work," Rick insisted.

"No, but if it was mixed in with your other chemicals you'd never notice," Kate said, the pieces beginning to come together.

"Death by cyanide poisoning?" Jim was following her. "He would have never seen it coming. But why kill him? If I understand correctly he was just a common photographer. No offense."

"For the reason that Kyra's parents hated him. He wasn't good enough for their daughter. All they have to do is add some cyanide every time he processes a picture and he certainly took a few when he was here." Kate held up the pictures her dad had found and scanned.

"Because they didn't want me to be with Kyra? I know they didn't like me, but to kill me?" Rick couldn't see it. "Besides, doing anything themselves was beneath them."

"So they hire someone. Nothing new there, it happens all the time even today." Kate could easily see that. "Who do you remember being around you?"

"I always worked alone. Save for those few times that I tried teaching some of the girls in the school." Then Rick looked at Kate. "They were just girls."

"Did any of these girls just happen to be one of the ones you talked about earlier?" Kate asked him.

Rick tried to think. "One of them tried but she wasn't any good at it. You're not actually thinking…?" She was just a girl. She was even younger than Kyra was.

"Stupid kids have killed because they didn't get the right pack of bubble gum that would have cost them a dollar. Kyra's parents were rich. What would you do if you were offered to have all of your costs paid for and get you a job? She doesn't even have to understand what she's doing. Add a little cyanide when you're processing then either leave or stay.

"Why would they care if she lived or died? If she died with you then they didn't have to pay her anything. That's one thing about people that are super rich. They stay rich because they don't spend any more money than they have to.

"What was it worth to them to get rid of you?" Kate asked, her voice expressionless. It was the only way she could keep control of her emotions.

"You think Kyra knew?" Rick couldn't believe it of her.

"At the time, who knows? After you were dead and buried and she was out of school or at least _this_ school…perhaps. She had to learn to be just like her parents if she wanted to stay rich and have access to other rich people."

"So Rick died here and was buried here?" Jim had been listening and saw his daughter nod. "Assume you're right for the moment. Rick dies and maybe the girl dies with him. Who buries him and where? Certainly not the parents. It would be in their best interest if their daughter simply thought you left her instead of thinking that her own parents were killers," Jim said, thinking their daughter might run away from her own parents if she learned they were killers.

Kate snapped her fingers. "They hire someone." Then she looked at Rick. "Where on this site did you do your work? Where did you use these chemicals? Can't be inside the school." Rick was too nice a man to subject all those girls to those fumes.

Rick opened his mouth as if to say something then turned to look where it used to be.

"Coats," Kate told her dad and snatched her own coat out of the armoire. Rick was going to show her where he'd worked when he was here. That might help her find his body. With all those girls around he and possibly that girl couldn't be carried far if they didn't want to be seen.

Now if one of her American flags happened to be close, she knew where to dig first.


	19. Chapter 19

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 19_

"So what's the plan?" Jim was curious. They had been outside and ended up standing where Rick could best figure out where he had set up. Unfortunately his location was presently under their parking lot out back. Worse there were four American flags stuck into the ground.

Kate had a problem. However, she had four she could start with before moving on the others. "I have to wait. There's nothing else I can do. The ground's too hard to accurately dig and I can't risk causing damage. It means waiting until sometime around late April or early May when the ground thaws out well enough," Kate answered, her frustration evident.

Jim asked, "Then what? How do you find out if what you think happened did indeed happen?"

"Get whatever I find to Lanie. Hopefully there's enough there for her to tell me what happened." She was sure Lanie would help her.

Jim took a good look at her. "And if you're right? It means one of two things."

"I know and that's the part that scares me the most." If she was right was that enough? She wasn't going to get a confession. Everyone involved had been dead for almost a century and a half. The only one still around was Rick.

"Do I never see him again? If I don't is it because he can't come back? Or did he move on? Or is it because I haven't solved it sufficiently to release him?" She was never going to know unless he got to come back. And then just when was he going to get to come back? Immediately after solving it or would she have to wait until December?

"I do have a question, though. Say you're right. That one of the students was doing what she was told and maybe being paid for. Why isn't…" Jim looked around and lowered his voice. "Why isn't she here, too? Why just Rick?"

Kate hadn't really given any thought to that but her dad had a point. "Not strong enough, maybe. Knew what she was doing so she was forced to go somewhere else." Kate meant going to hell instead of being a ghost and haunting the inn.

Jim had more questions. "So why can't Rick go somewhere? Why is he stuck, trapped, as he calls it?"

"We may never know that. We're talking about something I don't think either of us know anything about. Maybe it's because who he is. This is where he was so this is where he stayed." Kate had no answer for that question. "I just know it's going to be a long four to five months." Kate was going to hate this amount of time without knowing anything. Or worse. What if December rolled around and he was still a ghost?

"Just focus on the fact that you love him. I remember I was so scared that your mother wasn't even interested. She barely even spoke to me. I was beginning to think that she had one of those _never date someone you work with _policies. Then I finally got up the courage to ask her and she wanted to know why I had waited so long." Jim chuckled. "She was about to give up on me. I guess what I'm trying to say is that don't give up on him just because you don't see him. If you truly do love him then you wait for him. Think of yourself as being married to someone in the military that has been deployed. Your job is to wait. His is to not get killed."

"Wait for someone I love to come home? It's not going to be easy." Kate knew she wasn't good with waiting for anything.

"I do have another question. How long do you plan to keep your other job or are you thinking of trying to keep both?" He knew his stubborn daughter might just be thinking of keeping both. But she surprised him.

"Just until Lanie tells me something if I find him." After that she would tender her resignation, sell her apartment, then get everything shipped here and into storage if necessary.

"Good, I only want what's best for you, Katie. You've been smiling ever since I got here and I don't remember you doing that at home. You've found the right place and we have Abigail to thank for it." Jim took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I didn't even remember her. I don't remember Mom ever even talking about her," Kate admitted.

"Your mother and her sister weren't really all that close. If I remember correctly that one visit when you were little was the last time they talked. Or at least the last time your mother admitted it. As to why, she refused to say. I know their parents ended up divorced so maybe that had something to do with it. I don't know." Jim was only guessing.

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Kate was standing next to Rick who was becoming a little more see through now. Kate had already tried to see whether she could touch him and while there was some resistance, mostly her hand went right through him. It meant making love to him again was out. Hell, she might not even get to kiss him before he totally vanished.

Right now they were both watching Jim look through the binder Abigail had left Kate. "Where did she get some of these pictures?" Jim didn't look up to see Kate shaking her head; she had no idea. He kept turning pages until he reached an envelope. She gave him permission to read it even if it only had her name on the outside.

The look on his face kept changing as he read. Then suddenly there were tears that he wiped away almost as fast as they showed up. His hands shaking, he folded it up, put it back in the envelope, and closed the binder.

"I never did know where the money came from and you wouldn't say." He was sober because of Abigail and because of Rick's money. Though where he got the money since he was dead was a mystery.

"Neither did I so I chose to say nothing. I just wanted it to work. To finally work so I could get my dad back," Kate said.

"I know I've said it before but I'm still so very sorry, Katie. I never really thought one drink could lead to the next and the next and then never be able to stop. Soon I was drinking to forget that I was drinking. There was never going to be an end." It was why nothing worked until suddenly he was in a different clinic that did things differently.

Kate walked over to him so she could hug him. "I'm glad too, Dad."

Rick was lost though Jim talking about drinking might mean he'd been a drunk. But it wasn't his place since he was a gentleman so he said nothing. He couldn't think badly of him. After all he was a common thief.

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Kate was walking her dad through what was going to happen around here while Rick was up front making life miserable for two women before the night crew showed up and took over.

"That bump out is going to go. Then build a new one separate from the main inn. Out here somewhere is going to be the propane tank and the temporary water heating system. I still don't really understand just how that's all going to work.

"The oil tank needs to get dug up. But all of this is contingent on being able to buy the lot across the street for the new parking lot." Kate pointed since they were both out back in the cold.

"Sounds like you have a plan." Jim looked around. The parking lot out back was quite large but she had 63 rooms plus staff and it looked full at the moment. "You have money for this?" He saw thousands needing to be spent for all of this. Not to mention if that oil tank was leaking oil into the ground.

"Rick gave me twelve Confederate bills and I took eight of them to the two different auction houses that you found for me. One ended the day after Christmas. That one alone earned… are you ready for this?" Kate delayed a minute, wanting to see the look on his face. "$890,000."

She smiled as she watched his mouth drop open. "The next one's tomorrow so if it does as well as the first I should have more than enough money. And I have four more bills I can use." She wasn't sure she should tell him that they'd dug up all of the other bills. Mostly because she didn't want her dad to not like Rick because he had stolen the money before he was killed.

"Over 1.5 million dollars. Sounds like it should get you a lot." Jim was still stunned.

"There's one more thing." She walked him over to an outside wall. "The other side of this wall is my bedroom and bathroom. This window's in my bathroom. The idea is to remodel most if not all of it and come out here into the parking lot and create a lot more space. Maybe even add a tiny kitchen." Kate walked back over to join her dad.

"What I don't get is how that is going to work with everything." Kate spread her arms wide.

"That's what architects and engineers are for, to solve that problem. It does sound like you're going to have a small house inside the inn. I suppose if you can use the inn's kitchen you won't need much. So how big are we talking here?" Jim was curious because if it was big enough maybe he would be a grandfather one day.

"Two big bedrooms and two bathrooms or maybe one big bedroom and two little bedrooms with a Jack and Jill bath. I don't know," she shrugged. "That was what the sketches the architect showed me."

"You have sketches?" Jim didn't know why he was standing out in the cold and blowing a small cloud every time he took a breath when they could be inside where it was nice and warm.

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They'd thrown their coats onto Kate's bed and were now standing in one of the conference rooms where she had left the sketches.

"Looks like they're trying to help you make a decision," Jim mentioned since he was seeing more marks on one than the other. "The small bedrooms with a Jack and Jill is winning."

Kate smiled again and shook her head. The staff had found the architect and he had made these two rough sketches for her. She couldn't believe the people who worked here. This place was nothing like New York City. No one in the precinct would've even thought about doing this for her.

"I see what you mean by change. He plans to go out into the parking lot pretty far." Jim flipped each of them around so he could get a better or different look at them. "You really are going to need the other lot to make all this work."

"Yeah, I don't know what plan B is or if there even is one," Kate admitted. It really did all come down to that vacant lot across the street. The only good thing about that lot was that it was huge.

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Kate took Jim upstairs where they saw yet another Christmas tree and they found one of the housekeeping staff working on a room. It was what Kate was looking for since she wanted to show him one of their rooms.

"Bailey!" Just her luck it would be one of her rooms.

"Hi, Kate." Bailey stopped working and went up to both of them.

"Bailey, this is my dad, Jim. This is Bailey, one of my new best friends." Kate had a soft spot for Bailey.

"Mr. Beckett, a pleasure." Bailey shook his hand. "Have you talked her into moving out here yet?" Bailey wasn't shy in the least little bit.

"You don't talk Katie into anything until she talks herself into it. I learned that lesson long ago. She's stubborn," Jim told her and saw Bailey smile.

"Thanks a lot, Dad." She would have poked him for that but he was her dad.

Jim let her in on a secret, "Besides I think she's already talked herself into it. She just needs to figure out when," then he watched Bailey almost squeal as she hugged Kate tightly.

"I knew this place would get to you. I knew it! So when are you moving?" Bailey would help her pack and move here.

"Maybe May at the earliest," Kate said and found herself smiling. Somehow seeing Bailey happy made her happy.

Now Bailey wasn't quite so happy. "Why so long?" May gave her enough time to change her mind.

"I have to finish something and I can't do that until the ground completely thaws," Kate explained.

"Does this have anything to do with all those flags outside?" Bailey asked. She was more than a little curious.

Kate raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to be a nurse? You're starting to sound like an investigator."

Bailey smiled. "Yes, I'm sure. It's what I want to be."

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They were back in Kate's room. "She seems to really like you," Jim said, glad that there was someone like Bailey in Katie's life.

"Bailey's turned into a really special friend. Her enthusiasm is infectious. Today's the 31st so there is something I need to do today since a few are taking tomorrow off. Vacation time."

Jim watched her take a box of envelopes out of her armoire. "What are those for?" Jim was curious but was formulating his own idea.

"Those Confederate bills gave me a lot of money so I'm giving all of the staff a year end bonus," Kate explained and her dad beamed at her.

"You really have adapted to being the owner of an inn, haven't you?" Jim was proud of her.

"I'm getting there," was all the further Kate was willing to go.

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Jim followed her as she gave out each envelope. Each of them said thank you as Kate explained why the envelopes and every one of them smiled. On more than one occasion he heard them sound out their surprise.

"ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS!?" Jim was even more proud of his daughter.

Then Jim found out that Bailey was going to be last for now. Kate would have to wait for the night staff to show up to finish.

"What's this?" Bailey was in yet a different room doing cleaning.

"I'm giving everyone a year end bonus check and this one is yours." Kate knew her check was different from all the others. No other member of the staff meant to her what Bailey did.

Jim watched her as Bailey clapped her free hand over her mouth and began crying after opening it.

"I want you to get the education that you're working so hard for." Kate was instantly enveloped by the young woman who just kept on crying.

Bailey managed to get out a, "THANK YOU!" between sobs.

"You deserve it," Kate said with a soft smile.

They eventually left Bailey sitting on the bed that still needed new sheets as she wiped away tears and just stared at her check.

Jim knew it wasn't any of his business but he had to ask. "How much did you give her?"

"Thirty-five thousand. If I find out it's not enough I'll give her more." Jim stopped her as they went down the stairs and gave her a huge hug.

"I'm so very proud of you!" Jim held her tight and felt Katie squeeze him back. "Your mother would be so very proud of you. If this is what this place has turned you into you need to stay here for a very long time. You've become an amazing woman." Jim was sure he couldn't love her more no matter what else she did in her life.

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Jim was tired but he knew Katie and Rick were going to need some time. It was approaching midnight on December 31st. While everyone else might be celebrating the coming of the new year and maybe even setting off fireworks, for them it was a sad time.

Rick almost wasn't there at all. "Good luck, son. I hope it all works out. For both of you." Jim left the bedroom and made his way to the TV room he'd seen earlier.

Kate stood there looking at what was left of Rick. The man she knew and loved was almost invisible and was just moments from being that possibly forever.

She tried to embrace him and yet she couldn't feel him any longer. It was like hugging air and she hated it. "I love you. I'll be here. I'm going to solve this."

Kate never thought to close her eyes; she watched as he slowly vanished from sight, leaving her all alone. She hadn't heard him say anything for hours. But a few moments before he was totally gone she could read his lips. She broke down and started to sob.

He'd told her that he loved her.

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The next day went by in a blur. She had escorted her dad back to the train station with Amelia doing the driving this time. When he had asked when she was leaving she had told him tomorrow. Her vacation was ending tomorrow.

"Let me know if there's anything you need, Katie. Anything at all. Just don't lose hope. He isn't really gone." Jim hugged her.

"I know, Dad. It just isn't going to be the same." Kate stood there long after his train was gone. She would be back here herself tomorrow for the trip back home. Except her apartment didn't feel like home any longer.

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"You didn't have to do that," Amelia said since she'd found out yesterday the amount of money Kate had given her daughter.

"Yes, I did. Bailey has a dream and I'm going to help her achieve that dream. She's become a good friend.

"I was…I was someone else before my mother was murdered in New York City. After she was murdered I wrapped my heart in steel. A wall, if you wish. I kept everyone out. No one was ever going to hurt me like that again.

"Then out of the blue I get this message that an aunt I didn't even remember had left me an inn in some tiny little town I didn't even know existed. I was just this girl who didn't even want to be here when my parents came here to see her.

"Mom died in November but we already had Christmas stuff out. I had given up on Santa when I was little. He didn't exist. Then her service was just a few weeks before Christmas.

"Christmas wasn't fun any more. It was a day that had more in common with hell than life and happiness. I'm not sure I really hated Christmas. It was just that Christmas was just another memory that my mother had been killed." Kate paused since there was more to the story.

"And here you are in a town dedicated to Christmas and owner of an inn that's all about Christmas." Amelia could feel her pain.

"Then I ran across all the people that worked there. They didn't understand how anyone could not like Christmas. Even worse, I ran across a letter Abigail had left me. Right after that I ran across Bailey, a young woman who believed everything about Christmas." Kate still wasn't totally sure what to think about how Bailey could so strongly believe.

"That's Bailey all right. My husband and I give her presents from Santa. And yet every year she shows us a present that she swears is from Santa. A present my husband and I know we didn't give her. All of them are small and cost next to nothing but she cherishes each of them even today," Amelia shared.

"Between the staff, you, Bailey, and what Abigail had said, they all started to reach me. Then I met someone. Even with my heart encased in steel behind a wall meant to keep everyone out, he got in. Now I love him more than anything," Kate admitted to someone other than her own father.

Then Kate huffed out a bitter laugh. "Now I don't want to go home, but I have to. I have to wait until it gets warmer. There's something I have to finish first. I have to." Kate knew she had no choice. Her life was gong to be put on hold until she found Rick's body. A year of therapy had taught her to let go of her mother and her case. Now what was left of her heart needed for her to solve who had killed Rick and where his body was buried. Then pray that he could back.

"I guess that explains why Bailey said there was something she had to do. Something about a late letter to Santa that she had to deliver." That had Kate looking at Amelia a little shocked. She knew she had actually written one, but she had asked for it to be mailed, not given to Bailey.

"She came back without that letter. My husband and I have no idea what she did with it and she won't say, not that we asked very hard. She's a good kid. Somehow she just knows instinctively what the right thing to do is. Now if I could just get her younger brother to follow her example my husband and I would be very happy." Amelia laughed at herself.

"If you want a life that you weren't sure you were ever going to have, you've come to the right place. Things that happen in New York City don't happen here. It's the perfect place to live. You'll see if you let it happen to you. Just come back, Kate, that's all you have to do. This place can fix anyone's heart."


	20. Chapter 20

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 20_

Kate spent the next two weeks in her apartment and struggled to get any sleep. She'd gone back to her normal eating habits and was drinking coffee almost constantly. Two weeks later she got two days off and caught the train that night to get back to Holly so she could spend as much time as she could there. It was only in her bed at the inn that she got any real sleep.

She never saw him or heard him or even felt him but she knew Rick was there. He was always going to be there until the day she either solved his murder and found his body or she waited until December then tried again.

Then she was gone for two weeks before she was able to come back. This time she got a call on her cell phone. It was her architect. He had a lot to tell her and show her if she had the time. "I'll make the time." She would let Captain Montgomery yell at her for being late if that was what it took.

"Ms. Beckett." David shook her hand; Kate helped him unload his car and took everything into one of the conference rooms. This time it was the main one since the smaller one had been rented out and was being used.

"What have you got, David?" Kate was anxious to see what he had and what he'd learned.

"I'll tell you the good news first. The owner of the land has agreed to sell it to you under one condition. They want a room for their son for a week every Christmas. Apparently he lives in London now and they know the reputation of the inn," David said.

"Granted! I'll give him two rooms if he needs it!" Kate was over the moon happy. Then he told her what Charles Linden wanted for the land. "I'll still take it."

"In that case let's go over what I've got for you." David dug into his big portfolio to show her.

"The dotted line is where your mechanical room is now. This is where your new mechanical room will go. Thanks to the size of your propane tank we need to be a certain distance away from your building and the property line per fire protection codes. The bigger the tank the greater the distance. Now to get around this a little we can install more than one tank. Those tanks are going to go here." David pointed them out.

"Now right next to them is going to be your temporary trailer that will be making all of your hot water while we demolish your mechanical room and build you a new one. It won't go away until we're ready to make the change over to your new one.

"We won't know what the new one or even the temporary one will be until you hire a mechanical engineer. I have three names for you and can make a recommendation for you if you want," David offered. "I've decided how much space they'll need but we won't know if that's enough until they do their design, or what the cost will be."

"So how does this work exactly?" Kate inquired.

"The propane tanks will be first, then we will bring in the trailer. After that we'll install temporary piping between your inn and the trailer for the cold, hot, and hot water return piping. We'll also route a temporary electrical line from your panel to the trailer.

"Once we're ready we'll connect your new system to the existing and disconnect the temporary. If we have our timing right each we can do this each time during the night so that your guests will never know. They'll see it but not feel it save for having to walk farther than normal.

"There may be a chance that it will take longer but we won't know that until the contractor starts work," David warned her.

"Now this is your room. Since the parking lot across the street is even bigger than your existing one I took up a lot of the existing parking lot to give you more space." David pulled out a different board to show her that area.

"I've moved your entrance, kept the fireplace, and your bathroom. I took up the space on either side and came out into the parking lot. Since three bedrooms and two bathrooms are standard I stayed with that. I also stayed with the Jack and Jill bathroom concept for the two now a bit larger bedrooms. Also your kitchen's a bit bigger than just a kitchenette.

"What we need to discuss are the finishes," David said after showing her his not yet complete floor plan.

"That's easy. I love the existing bathroom. I've realized that I love almost anything that's antique and I love wood," Kate told him.

"Guess that takes care of a lot of samples I brought with me. Should have just called first and then brought those. Well live and learn. I'll get started on those. Where does the antique stop?" David asked.

"It doesn't," Kate quickly replied.

"Okay, I'll see what I can do. They do make a great many kitchen appliances today that look like antiques on the outside but function the same as brand new appliances if that will work for you," David queried.

"Just as long as I'm not cooking with wood or coal that's fine with me. Or using large blocks of ice to cool food."

David laughed. "We can handle that. Let me know what engineering firm you want to use and I can get them started. I'll work on buying the land, send you the paperwork to sign, and where to send the money."

"Just pick one so long as you can prove that they are trustworthy and capable." Kate didn't know what to look for in the first place. That's what she had him for.

"In that case you might want to warn your staff that as each utility comes out the engineer and his team will also be out for several days to find out what they're working with and take measurements."

"I'll warn them. Thanks for coming out. I'm going back to New York tomorrow." Kate shook his hand and helped him carry it all back out to his car.

Kate warned the two at the front desk and retreated to her office to look at the bank account for the Inn. Her first auction had brought her $890,000 while the second topped out at $910,000. A whopping 1.79 million dollars! A godsend given that December had not been a good month thanks to them being closed and taking time to get back open again. So far the new year was back up to standards expected of this place in the past.

All of the Christmas trees were gone now along with a fair amount of the Christmas decorations and lights. Even her little one in her office was gone. While it wasn't real and Abigail might be rolling her eyes at it, Kate had found a ceramic tree one that was 18 inches tall and with fake snow and these little colored plastic pieces stuck into holes. The lone light on the inside of it was what lit it up. Everything else was still there and the Confederate money was untouched.

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Three months later, though it was still cold outside construction was well underway. At the moment Kate was standing out in what used to be their parking lot. It was mostly gone now as was her bedroom. She was sleeping in a room up on the third floor that overlooked the construction site. No guest was going to want that room anyway.

The parking lot was done. The propane tanks were here as was the long trailer that held boilers and storage tanks with an electrical panel. Temporary electrical was hanging overhead held up with a makeshift bunch of 2" x 4"s. Even the temporary piping was installed along with a connection to the propane tanks.

The contractor was going to show up in force shortly and work all night under lights to make the plumbing connections between the trailer and their inn. Once that was done they would start demolition of what was in their existing mechanical room then tear down that part of the building and permanently close it off save for an emergency exit door. If all went as planned no one would notice the difference.

Kate watched as Bailey came out to be picked up by her mother after completing her shift. "It's actually going to happen." Bailey stood next to her and looked it all over. It looked like a big mess to her but so long as it worked. "Still haven't seen him?" Bailey asked quietly.

Kate knew exactly who she was talking about. Besides her dad she was the only other person who knew much of anything about Rick.

"No, and I won't until I can find his body. I have a theory on who murdered him and why. I need his body to have tests run on to verify my theory. The ground penetrating radar will be out the first week of May. So far I just have what the cadaver dog found," Kate explained.

Kate felt Bailey put an arm around her. "He's standing right here, Kate. We both know he is and I have faith that he'll be back. I've done all I can to make sure of it," Bailey promised her.

That took Kate a moment as she was trying to see or feel Rick. "All you can? What have you done, Bailey?" Kate turned to look at her.

"And ruin the magic? Not a chance. We're just going to have to wait." Bailey wasn't blabbing and ruining it. "Mom's here, gotta go. Keep the faith, Kate. This place is magical as you've learned or you would still be in New York City." Bailey gave her a squeeze and jogged over to her mom's car to go home.

Technically she was still in New York City. Until she found his body she was going to be there since that was where Lanie and the boys were. Besides, it was her only paying job. Any money she made at the inn went right back into the inn. Right now she was waist deep in tax returns. She had a company doing it for her but it had taken her days to gather all of the paperwork she could find for the entire year. Today she was busy having her own done thanks to inheriting the inn. Her taxes used to be simple. Not anymore, that was for sure.

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Kate knew she couldn't keep Lanie at bay forever and since she was right outside her door and holding up two bottles of wine for her to see, it was looking like today she was going to have to come clean with her best friend.

It wasn't so much that she didn't want Lanie to know. It was just she didn't need her telling her what she already knew. That she was in love and not sleeping well because she missed him horribly.

"Hi, Lanie." Kate wasn't surprised to find Lanie walking into her apartment without being invited. That was just Lanie. So Kate closed and locked the door.

"You've been avoiding me for months," Lanie griped and went in search of glasses for the wine.

"I have not been avoiding you. I see you every week," Kate countered even if that was a white lie.

"At work, yes, but when I ask if you want to go somewhere you deflect. I'm your best friend so you need to talk to me," Lanie insisted.

"I assume you want the whole story." Kate took the glass of wine and sipped it. Two bottles later and her lips just might get loose enough to say something she didn't want to.

"The truth and nothing but the truth, your honor," Lanie said.

Kate chuckled. "The beginning. It wasn't quite December when a lawyer came to see me. An aunt I barely remembered and hadn't seen since I was just a kid had passed away and left an inn in a small town in Connecticut to me." Lanie tried to jump in with questions and Kate glared at her.

"An inn, I'm listening." Lanie shut up and drank some of her wine.

"A Christmas inn in a small town that was in love with Christmas. …Where's my computer?" Kate went looking and came back with a laptop then pulled up her website for her inn.

"Magical Inn in Holly, Connecticut. It looks really nice, Kate. Lots of Christmas everywhere." That had to have put Kate off so now Lanie was wondering what she had done with it.

"Sixty-three rooms that have been renovated in the past using millions of dollars. It's presently going through another one, thanks to me," Kate said.

"You? Are you trying to say you kept the inn?" This was not the Kate she knew if she had.

Kate got right to the point. "I kept it and as soon as I can find something I'm quitting my job here and moving into the inn in nowhere Holly, Connecticut."

That shocked Lanie into silence. "What about your mother?" Lanie knew that meant a lot to her.

"A year of therapy showed me that I had to let go of her case or it was going to destroy me."

"A year of…! You've been having therapy sessions and didn't tell me?" This was definitely not the Kate she thought she knew. "What else? I know what you think of Christmas so there has to be something else."

There was something all right and Kate couldn't stop from smiling when she thought of Rick.

"There _is_ something else. Or _someone_ else. What's his name and where did you meet him?" Lanie put 2 + 2 together and came up with _boyfriend_.

"His name is Richard Rodgers. He's a photographer and I love him. Even Dad has met him and likes him." Kate winced as she listened to Lanie squeal.

"Kate Beckett." Lanie didn't know what she was going to do with her. She had really been holding out on her. "He's obviously handsome and you fell in love with him. Do you have a picture of him?" Lanie wanted to see this guy.

"Oops." Kate hadn't really thought about that. "There is one thing and it's really important. If I'm lucky I'm going to be sending you some bones that I want you to examine and if you can, tell me what killed him."

"Not part of a case, I take it?" Lanie asked since it sounded personal to her and watched Kate shake her head.

"You're my best friend so I'm going to do all I can. If it's possible I'll find it," Lanie promised.

"Thanks, Lanie, I really need this to work." If she couldn't find what killed Rick she was in big, big trouble.

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It was May 1, 2012 and Kate had asked for yet another week off work which had shocked Roy completely. She hadn't taken time off since he had met her and suddenly she had taken three weeks off.

Kate had decided to show off one of the new dresses she'd found. It was of the same era as the others, but it was a copy. It was a spring green, a color very appropriate for the season. The dress had a shallow scooped neckline that was edged in ruffled ecru lace complimented with a darker green ribbon sewn down the center of the ruffle. Attached just beneath the ruffle was a gorgeous ecru lace drape about four inches long. The dress had short sleeves with an inch long pleated lace ruffle around the bottom of the sleeve. Kate had been so happy that this dress didn't have a train. So she didn't have to worry about anyone stepping on it!

The bodice was fitted and closed in front with deeper green cloth buttons. There was a wide belt made of the same fabric as the dress with a slightly yellower green ribbon flower on the front. The skirt was plain except for a narrow darker green ribbon sewn on about six inches from the bottom of the skirt. All in all she was quite pleased with it.

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It was a Tuesday and her ground penetrating radar tech showed up with his team. Kate took the three men into her office and showed them her map. "Each location is marked by an American flag stuck into the ground. I want you to start with these four here. If you don't find anything in any of those you can do the others. If you still don't find anything you can do the entire grounds. We have a lot of construction going on out back where you can park and unload your equipment so if a flag was there you can skip it."

Kate was standing on the upper balcony watching them work when suddenly Bailey, in her work uniform, walked up next to her. "Are these the guys?" she asked.

"Yes. They have the first four best flags to start with to find something. This needs to work. I really need a body to have investigated or I'm back to square one. Even if they find something I have to get a digging crew out here. It'll look like I'm digging for dinosaur bones." Kate couldn't help but smile. "Maybe I can explain it as being just that. We're digging up a T-Rex."

"Just don't let Rick hear you call him a T-Rex," Bailey teased and bumped her in the hip. Kate laughed.

"Probably already too late," Kate grinned. Her smile faded as she watched them tow their radar across the first site. "Don't you have work to do? I promise to tell you first if they find anything."

"I'm going. I'll even help them dig when I'm not working. You might get the entire staff to help them if you asked, you know." Bailey left her and went back to work.

"They might at that. But I need pros who know what they're doing," Kate told herself.

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Kate watched them do all four sites. Two set up for the next site while one of them walked inside with a laptop in hand. Kate hurried downstairs to meet him.

They were both soon in a conference room with him showing her what he'd found at each site. "We surveyed the first four sites for you, however this site here appears to have what you're looking for. You can see here the density of the area. I don't quite understand exactly what's going on though I do have a theory," Trevor said.

"I'm listening." Kate would take his theory and use it or simply dismiss it. Either way it was looking like she was going to be digging up this site first.

"I made a phone call after finding this. It has a similarity to what you would find at a multiple person grave site though on a far smaller scale. If I had to I would guess that there's more than one body buried at this site," Trevor told Kate.

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Kate had him do all of the other sites with flags just in case but she had her own theory as to why his theory about more than one body worked so well. Now she just needed to get that site dug up and get what they found, if they found anything, to Lanie for analysis.

Kate was really hoping she was one step closer. One step closer to what her heart wanted most and what it also feared the most.

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Kate spent most of the next month and a half when she was at the inn every two weeks on her two days off on the second floor balcony watching as a bunch of college students were using her site to train on how to dig for dinosaur bones. The school and the professor had jumped at the chance, especially when Kate had told them she would feed them from her kitchen free of charge.

Even now she was watching as yet another bone was removed from the site and placed in a container for transport. Construction on the opposite side of the inn was taking place but she didn't really care about that. The construction didn't need her supervision and neither did this. However, watching these kids dig was all that she cared about.

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Kate was staring at her murder board trying to figure out what it was telling her when her cell phone rang. "Beckett." Her mind was still on her board.

"We've completed our work at the dig site. What we found is presently in your office under the watchful eyes of your staff. We greatly appreciate the opportunity to do a dig that actually had real bones. It was a great learning experience for our students. Please let us know if you have another site," Professor Rose Hume said.

That call had her mind off her board and scrolling until she found the name she wanted. She was going to have them pick up the bones tomorrow and transport them to Lanie that same day.

"I'll be in the morgue if anyone wants me," Kate told Ryan and Espo as she left them. She had something to tell Lanie. She knew she would need to tell Lanie something especially once this was over. She just hoped her best friend wouldn't be too angry at her for withholding information from her.


	21. Chapter 21

**Life at Christmas**

_Chapter 21_

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_Merry Christmas to everyone and hope the New Year will be to everyone's liking.  
_

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_Epilogue_

_It is now 3 years later_

Kate was standing out in front of the inn next to the fountain. Their biggest construction project yet had been started. It might be a risk, however it also might just work out.

It was being built next to the inn on the right side. She had to tear down something that was already there when she'd bought the land but that wasn't important now. She had also bought the land on the other side of the inn. She just didn't know what to put there yet.

What was being built here was a spa. But it wasn't just any spa. Yes, you could get massages, there were three tables planned for just that. You could also get your hair washed, cut, styled, and do just about anything you wanted to the hair on your head. Manicures and pedicures were also going to be offered. They were even going to take it back to being a school again. Only this time the upper floors were going to teach people how to cut, color, and style hair, do manicures, pedicures, and massages. They were even going to have some of those new immersion therapy units.

And if that wasn't enough, out back next to her now completed mechanical room was going to be an indoor pool completely enclosed by glass. It didn't need to be heated though Kate was going to have it heated just in case. Even if it did put a strain on their two propane tanks.

The mechanical room had worked out perfectly. She had a series of brand new Lochinvar Knight boilers. Something about 94.6% efficient so they used less propane. They had a 5:1 turndown. Meaning that as each boiler fired up to meet demand each one would only use up propane as needed to meet the demand in five separate stages per boiler.

They were also tiny. Far smaller than what she had thought they would be. She could put triple the number she had in the same footprint of that ancient boiler that had been removed. The Engineer had left space for an expansion and she would need another boiler thanks to the increased load. However she had space and a propane tank that was large enough. It did however mean digging to install new piping to serve the addition.

Granted she still had a storage tank that held the hot water but this one had a lot of insulation around it to contain the hot water. The new mechanical room had an office for her staff. It also had a vast parts area. Whole toilets and other fixtures that were still in boxes were located here. Along with faucets, piping, and a mind-boggling array of parts. Everything they could possibly need was all stored here.

She had never heard of the product but the piping from her new boilers to the connection to her old piping that served the inn was done underground using a product called Rhino Flex. It was a new piping system that used Pex-piping that had insulation around it along with a polyethylene outer jacket to protect it. It had arrived precut to length and rolled up. You just put it in the ground and cover it up.

Right now the new addition was mostly just concrete footings. It was going to take over a year to build it all. She had even used the same architect as last time who was happy to have her business.

Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her from behind. She put her hands on his and leaned back into him.

"What have you got, Lanie?" She had called Kate down here to talk to her.

"As you know you sent two sets of bones. This one is male, I'm guessing somewhere in his 30s. This one is female and perhaps in her early 20s. It took some time to separate them all out. Based on their condition I would say that they were dumped into the same unmarked grave," Lanie lead off with which was testing Kate's patience.

"The girl appears to have been stabbed based on the mark on this rib here. She probably bled out then was dumped. Now the male on the other hand took more work. I had to grind down some of the bones and test them. Given what I found I would say that he died of cyanide poisoning that lasted over several weeks, if not a month or two. A long enough period that the cyanide made its way to every part of his body, including all of his bones. He must have been very sick and in considerable pain."

That last part struck Kate right in her heart. Hearing that Rick had died in considerable pain was a lot to take. She didn't want him to feel any pain at all. When he had died she had been hoping it had been while he slept and was painless.

Lanie tilted her head and looked at Kate. "I have no ID on either of them. Any idea who they were?" After all, Kate had sent them to her.

"I know who the male is but I only have guesses as to who the female is." Kate had three names to work with for the female and she was betting she was the one that had poisoned Rick. Then she was killed so that Gregg and Virginia Blaine didn't have to pay her a thing. Along with covering their tracks and keeping her from talking. No loose ends.

"You want to tell me what's going on?" Lanie was now beyond curious.

"You can box them back up. I'll come collect them later." Kate didn't tell her a thing and went back to her desk. Her white board no longer interested her.

She hadn't sat there long when Lanie called her again which had her running flat out all the way back to the morgue.

"He's gone! One minute I go into my office and I come out a minute later and he's gone." Lanie pointed to the table where Rick's bones had just been lying. The girl was still here but Rick was gone.

"What's going on, Kate? Bones don't just get up and walk away." Now she had paperwork to do. She had done this as a favor for her best friend. But with them apparently being stolen she was going to have to file an official report.

"I don't…" Kate didn't have an explanation. People stole dead bodies for school. Prospective future medical students needed bodies to study so stealing dead bodies was a problem. But not dead bodies that were all bones.

Kate was saved when her cell phone rang again. "Beckett."

"Hi, Kate, this is Judith from the front desk. We have a good looking man dressed in a brown period suit who says his name is Richard Rodgers and that you would know that name." It didn't mean anything to her. But as she looked at him just standing there he was smiling widely.

Kate was left speechless as she stood there but felt her tears run down her cheeks and her breathing became more difficult. Her heart that had been hurting for years was now soaring and her tears weren't tears of pain for a change.

Then suddenly she heard, "Hi, Kate." It was his voice. They had handed him the phone so he could talk to her.

"**RICK!** Oh, God. It worked!. I'll…I'll be right there. Don't move I'm coming." Kate hung up on him and for once didn't know what to do first.

"Kate?" Lanie had watched what she thought was Kate falling apart and yet she was smiling and if she didn't know better, was actually glowing.

"He's alive! It actually worked. I know who killed him and I found his body! I've got to go." Kate began to run for the door only to turn around and rush over to Lanie, crushing her in a hug that Lanie usually reserved for her when she was happy.

"Thanks, Lanie, I owe you big for this." Then Lanie watched her run away, crying the entire way.

"What the hell is going on?" Lanie was being left in the dark. Worse, her best friend sounded happy but was crying at the same time.

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Kate found herself sitting on a train about an hour and a half later after telling Roy that she had a family emergency and hadn't even waited for him to say yes and for her to say thank you. She hadn't even gone home to pack. She had clothes at the inn. Most of it save for some blue jeans, a few tops, tennis shoes, and bras and panties, were all period clothes. Since that was what she wore when she was there she really didn't need any clothes from her apartment. Not that she was thinking about clothes at the moment, anyway. All she wanted to do was get to Rick.

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"You want to tell me what's going on?" Amelia was her ride from the train station. "Bailey was screaming at me to get to the train station so I could pick you up."

"Rick is alive. I solved his murder and now he's alive." Kate didn't even look at her and just watched and willed her to drive faster.

Amelia tried to understand since she was sure she was missing a few pieces to this puzzle. But her best bet to get answers was to get Kate to the inn so she sped up just a bit.

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Kate ran to the inn after Amelia parked the car while Amelia more walked though it was a fast walk.

Kate flew to the front desk and what she got was them pointing at the sitting room. Inside she saw Rick with Bailey sitting right next to him.

Kate walked slowly as she went to him and watched him stand up with a grin on his face. He was even wearing the same brown suit she always saw him in. She didn't stop until she had her arms around his neck. She was kissing him even as her tears flowed once again. As the kiss got more passionate she could actually taste him again. Something she hadn't had the privilege of doing for months.

She broke from the kiss, moving her hands to his face and just staring at him. "You're alive," she whispered. Now she really was crying. All her hopes and dreams and hard work had resulted in this. She never really understood what she had done to herself locking her heart away like she had until now. This very moment showed her just how stupid she had been.

"I told you I would be back," Rick said and found himself being kissed again.

Bailey was standing there and crying with them. She barely saw her own mother standing behind these two and watching in total amazement.

"You have any idea what this is about?" Judith who was at the front desk asked Jen, her partner for today.

All she could do was shake her head and feel the tears well up. Whatever it was it clearly meant Kate was happy and that was going to make everyone else happy.

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Kate's new suite was not yet finished so she was still living on the third floor overlooking the construction that was on going. Along with all the noise that went with it.

She couldn't wait and answers for her staff's questions were just going to wait for later. Right now she only had one thing on her mind and that was how fast she could get Rick out of that suit and naked on her bed.

"Bailey!?" Amelia, though, was going to get answers and she was going to get them now.

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"Let me see if I've got this right." Amelia took Bailey out to the front porch and sat down away from the few people there. "Rick's the ghost. He died here and has been trapped here ever since?" Amelia asked and watched her daughter nod. "He was only solid for the month of December because he was cursed?" Her daughter nodded again.

"Then along comes Kate after Abigail passed away. She falls in love with him while he's a ghost. Then sets about the task of proving who killed him and finding his body?" Her smiling daughter was still nodding her head.

"You took Kate's letter to Santa instead of mailing it. Instead of living in the North Pole he lives here in Holly?" Amelia saw Bailey smile even wider and nodded again.

"Now Rick is alive. He's here and not moved on like everyone else does after they die and this is all thanks to Santa?" Amelia was still trying to wrap her head around a lot of this, especially the Santa part. What did Santa have to do with granting wishes? When it wasn't even Christmas?

"It worked, Mom. Rick is alive. Now Kate will quit her job in New York and move out here. She'll marry Rick, have kids, and live happily ever after. The inn will always be here. Maybe I can even get Kate to believe in Santa again." Bailey still had one thing left to do and that was to get Kate to believe again.

Amelia's lips curved in a smile. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Love me?" Bailey asked softly.

"Too late. I did that the second you were born." Amelia got up so she could hug her daughter and kept on loving her.

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The wedding took place right out front of the inn. The guests, and there were a lot of them, several hundred in fact, filled the drive through, the fountain area, and the front porch as Rick and Kate got married right in front of the main doors to the inn.

Every single piece of Christmas decoration had been brought out and set up again by the staff. They had even found someone willing to dress up as Santa to perform the ceremony. Bailey had found him for them.

He even Ho Ho Hoed as he watched them kiss for the first time as husband and wife.

Kate was enveloped countless times by friends now that she had a whole lot of them. Including Roy and his wife, Ryan and his girlfriend, Espo, Lanie, and anyone else that Roy gave time off to from the precinct where she no longer worked.

Kate didn't know how she had even heard about her marriage, but the woman who had wanted Kate to model for her (and Kate had turned her down) had provided a dress for her free of charge. "You are going to be the most beautiful bride anyone has ever seen," Kate was told and for a nano second thought she saw her mother smiling at her as she held the dress up against her.

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"It all worked out. Your mother would be so happy for you." Jim wiped away his own tears as he looked her over after the wedding. She had a new ring on her finger and Jim was more than happy to hand her off to Rick who was conspicuously absent at the moment.

Kate had her own tears and was sure she was ruining her makeup as she patted her face dry with her mother's handkerchief that she'd tucked up her sleeve.

"If Rick can be here then Mom's here too, somewhere." Kate could believe it now.

"So whose idea was it for Santa to do the ceremony?" Jim had thought that was a brilliant idea. Especially given the theme of the town and this inn. He was even dressed in a Santa suit.

"Bailey's, I think." Kate really didn't know but she wouldn't put it past her. She even looked for her until she saw her standing next to her husband and Santa. "Excuse me, Dad." Kate lifted her dress so it didn't drag and ruin it and made her way to the three of them. Only Santa walked away before she could reach them.

"Husband?" Kate slipped her arm around him and smiled the most beautiful smile. She never knew she could be this happy.

"Wife." Rick put his arm around her and smiled back at her.

"Where did Santa go?" She wanted to thank him for the lovely sentiments he had said at their wedding.

"He's on vacation. It takes a lot of work to go around the world delivering toys in one night, you know," Bailey stated and hurried away.

"Why is it that I get the feeling we're missing something?" Kate wondered aloud as she watched Bailey walk quickly over to her mother.

"I'm not missing anything. I've got what I want right here." Rick kissed her forehead.

It was cheesy and Kate knew it but that made her smile and put her arms around his neck, which was easy to do given the height of the heels she was wearing.

"So what do we do next, husband?" Kate grinned at him since she had an idea just what to do just as soon as everyone was gone. Or gone into the inn for the night given that Kate had cleared as much space as she could to make room for some of the wedding guests.

"We could start work on that baby," Rick suggested but Kate shook her head.

"Maybe in a couple of years. But we can always get in a lot of practice first," Kate purred, kissing him. She didn't notice lots of people taking still more pictures of them kissing.

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"Think this is a good idea?" Kate asked again as she leaned back into Rick.

"It's perfect. Now we just need to figure out what to put on the other side," Rick replied.

Kate twisted to look up at him. They'd only just started construction of this project and he wanted to start on another one?

"We need to balance out the look. The inn in the middle, the spa on one end and something else on the other," Rick said to his wife.

"Ah." Kate twisted back around to look. She did have to admit that it was going to look weird. The new building was going to be almost be a duplicate of the inn. White porches on the front on all three floors, red brick on all four sides and a green metal roof. To balance out the look they were going to need something on the other side.

"We'll think of something." Kate had no idea what, but then she hadn't really thought about building anything on this side. Now they were building this huge spa building. It was a good thing the parking lot out back on the other side of the road was large. They were going to need the space after this.

"We're going to need a parking garage if we keep this up," Kate pointed out.

"I'm sure David would be happy to oblige," Rick commented which had Kate laughing.

She also felt him rubbing his hands over her tiny bump. Even Kate couldn't really see it, however, the doctor had confirmed what Kate was sure of. She was pregnant. Basically right on Rick's schedule. She had said maybe in two years and here it was closer to three if not exactly.

It was a good thing the suite they lived in at the inn was done. They were going to need the space in about five months.

"What do you think about an addition to the inn on the left side? We could build a walkway between the two. Add more rooms to support the spa," Kate suddenly suggested since it just occurred to her. "A real enclosed bridge maybe."

All of this was possible because Rick in his lone act of stupidity had stolen Confederate bills that were now worth a small fortune. Kate had been selling them at the same auction houses every year since the first one. Four bills per auction. They hadn't even cracked open the crate yet let alone use up the ones that were in Rubbermaid containers that were now hidden away inside their suite. Even after this construction was complete they would still have over a million dollars in the bank.

Rick loved the idea. "And you said you didn't know anything about running an inn," Rick said again and smiled into the back of her head.

"I'm learning, I'm learning," Kate smiled back.

"Abigail would be proud of you." Rick tightened his hold on her just a touch.

"I still don't know what she was thinking." Kate didn't understand it. "But I'm glad she did." Her life was here now. Almost like it was always meant to be. She didn't miss the murders she used to work so hard to solve one tiny bit.

"Me, too." Rick kissed the back of her head.

Off in the distance an overweight man dressed in vacation clothes, now that the wedding was over, who just so happened to have a large white beard and white hair but was missing his red nose since it wasn't cold outside, watched these two. He put his hands on his belly and offered them his best wishes. Partly because of a letter he had gotten from Kate who had abandoned him all those years ago. And partly because one young lady who he had very big plans for, had hand delivered it to him. Maybe the world would one day be ready for a Ms. Claus to deliver all those presents and he could formally retire to a beach with his Mrs. Claus.

HO, HO, HO!


End file.
